Gold eased for the fifth straight session on Thursday as traders awaited further news on Greece's negotiations with its creditors, while caution over the metal's longer-term outlook weighed on interest. Expectations that the Federal Reserve is set to increase interest rates for first time in nearly a decade, boosting the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, have pressured gold this year, keeping it in a narrow range.
Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,172.95 an ounce at 3:32 pm ET (1932 GMT), little changed from the previous session, while US gold futures for August delivery settled down $1.10 at $1,171.80. Spot prices earlier hit a two-week low of $1,171.02. Gold has held largely between $1,160 and $1,230 since mid-March, struggling to break higher despite an ostensibly bullish rise in tensions over Greece.
Spot platinum was up 0.8 percent at $1,079.25 an ounce, and spot palladium was down 2.3 percent at $677.25 an ounce. Palladium fell to its lowest since July 2013 at $668.25 an ounce earlier, having broken through key chart support last week. Prices have slid more than 14 percent this year so far, hurt by perceptions that supply of the white metal is plentiful.
