Gold fluttered in a narrow range on Thursday in muted trading ahead of the holidays, with market participants now waiting for a bunch of US economic data due later in the day. The United States will release a third revision of US third quarter gross domestic product along with durable goods orders for November, and weekly initial jobless claims.
The Federal Reserve, which hiked US interest rates last week, signaled three more increases next year compared with its previous projection of two. Strong economic data could prompt the Fed to raise rates sooner than later, pressuring gold prices as higher rates lower demand for the non-interest-paying bullion, which is priced in dollars. Spot gold was steady at $1,131.76 an ounce by 0720 GMT.
US gold futures were little changed at $1,133.50 per ounce. "The market is in holiday mood already and we have very few trading days before the new year. It is all going to be quiet as the investors will be holding very thin margins," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
Comments
Comments are closed.