London: Gold edged lower on Tuesday, hovering below a three-week high hit the previous session, as investors marked time ahead of US retail sales data, while a new hike in Indian import tax capped sentiment. Traders reported that volumes remained muted during the summer holidays period. Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent to $1,333.26 an ounce by 0954 GMT, down from a three-week high of $1,343.06 hit on Monday.
The metal rose nearly 2 per cent in the previous session on signs of solid Chinese consumption and as the world’s largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) SPDR Gold Trust posted its first inflow in two months on Friday. The fund’s holdings were unchanged on Monday.
The top eight gold ETFs tracked by Reuters have recorded outflows of about $26 billion so far this year, hurting gold prices. A reversal in the trend would aid a price recovery.
“We should be trading between $1,300 and $1,350 until September when we have more people around and more macro economic events,” MKS SA head of trading Afshin Nabavi said. “There is a chance we can see more upside simply because the numbers out of the States have started to look a little bit shakier lately ... any disappointing number today could weigh the dollar down and lift gold.”
