By Brijesh Patel
(Reuters) -Gold prices trimmed the session’s losses on Tuesday, helped by a pause in the dollar’s rally and lower Treasury yields, while investors waited for U.S. economic data due this week for more cues on the interest rate path.
Spot gold lost 0.2% to $3,994.47 per ounce, as of 1210 GMT, after declining 0.9% earlier. U.S. gold futures for December delivery eased 0.2% to $4,004.70 per ounce.
“Gold is consolidating in the region of $4,000 and the next few weeks will be crucial for understanding if there’s space for more rally or we see a correction,” said Carlo Alberto De Casa, external analyst at banking group Swissquote.
“We’re seeing a stronger U.S. dollar and expectations for a cut in December going down. Also, yields are going up and this is affecting gold.”
The dollar index eased after hitting a three-month high against its rivals, making gold less expensive for other currency holders. Benchmark U.S. 10-year yields retreated from a three-week high on Monday. [USD/]
The Federal Reserve last week cut rates for the second time this year, but Chair Jerome Powell said another reduction this year was “not a foregone conclusion”.
Market participants now see a 65% chance of another rate cut in December, down from over 90% prior to Powell’s remarks, per CME’s FedWatch Tool.
Non-yielding gold thrives in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of economic uncertainty.
Investors now eagerly await the release of ADP U.S. employment data, due on Wednesday, and ISM PMIs this week for cues on rate cuts.
“The initial break below that level ($4,000) triggered a wave of technical selling and unwinding of long positions,” Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com, said in a note.
Elsewhere, spot silver was down 0.6% at $47.80 per ounce, platinum eased 0.5% to $1,558.25 and palladium fell 2.8% to $1,405.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Harikrishnan Nair)
