IV:Gold futures lower ahead of U.S. GDP data, Syria in focus
Investing.com - Gold futures edged lower on Thursday, easing off the highest level since May as investors looked ahead to U.S. growth figures for the second quarter.
Gold traders have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,409.40 a troy ounce during European morning hours, down 0.65%.
The December contract settled 0.1% lower at USD1,418.20 a troy ounce on Wednesday, after rising to a three-and-a-half month high of USD1,433.50 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,368.40 a troy ounce, the low from August 23 and near-term resistance at USD1,433.50, the previous session’s high.
The U.S. was to publish revised data on second quarter growth and the weekly report on initial jobless claims, data points that will be scrutinized for its potential impact on the Fed's monetary policy stance.
Uncertainty over the timing of a reduction in the Fed’s bond-buying program continued after data showed that U.S. pending home sales fell unexpectedly in July.
Industry data showed that U.S. pending home sales declined 1.3% last month, more than the expected 0.5% fall, after a 0.4% loss the previous month.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its quantitative easing program sooner-than-expected.
The central bank is scheduled to meet September 17-18 to review the economy and assess policy.
Market participants remained cautious amid concerns over an impending U.S.-led military strike against Syria, following the alleged use of chemical weapons.
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the U.S. has concluded that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack near Damascus, but added that he had not yet made a decision about whether to intervene militarily.
The precious metal has rebounded nearly 18% since hitting a 34-month low of USD1,180.15 a troy ounce on June 28.
Despite recent gains, the precious metal is still on track to post a loss of approximately 15% on the year amid concerns the Fed will start to unwind its stimulus program by the year's end.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery fell 1.6% to trade at USD24.04 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery shed 0.25% to trade at USD3.302 a pound.
