Gold inched lower on Tuesday as investors awaited US inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement later in the week, after a stronger-than-expected payrolls report on Friday.

Gold unchanged at Rs239,400 per tola in Pakistan

Fundamentals

• Spot gold was down 0.2% at $2,306.38 per ounce, as of 0109 GMT. US gold futures fell 0.2% to $2,323.00.

• Bullion fell 3.5%, or about $83, on Friday in its biggest drop since November 2020 after the US jobs data and reports that China’s central bank was holding off gold purchases.

• The May consumer price index (CPI) inflation report due Wednesday will be the next major data point to drive Fed expectations.

• Fed policymakers will update their economic and interest rate projections when they conclude their two-day meeting on Wednesday.

• A New York Fed survey showed that the US public’s outlook on the future path of inflation was mixed in May.

• Updated economic projections from Fed officials this week are expected to show fewer interest rate cuts than policymakers anticipated three months ago.

• Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

• China, the biggest official sector buyer of gold, is expected to resume its bullion shopping spree once prices ease from the record highs hit in May, as the fundamental case for the metal remains, industry players said at a conference this week.

• Vietnam is expected to allow companies to import gold for the first time in over a decade, as it aims to bridge the widening gap between local prices and international benchmarks, an industry official told Reuters.

• Spot silver fell 0.7% to $29.56 per ounce, platinum was down 0.1% at $966.85 and palladium lost 0.1% to $903.25.