US Inflation Data Looms as Gold Prices Slide
Gold prices slid on Monday as investors locked in profits following last week's seven-week high, ahead of crucial US inflation data that may influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
Spot gold dropped 0.5% to $4,322.28 per ounce by 0200 GMT, while US gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.4% to $4,381.60 on Monday.
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, believes that gold will remain supported above the $4,300 level in the near term, describing the current price movement as a 'natural stabilisation' rather than a shift in sentiment.
The US economy unexpectedly shed jobs in July, and previously reported job gains for the prior two months were revised sharply lower. This has flipped the odds of a rate hike at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting from likelier-than-not to a worse-than-even chance.