Gold is stable due to the strength of the dollar and the market is awaiting important economic data

Gold prices changed slightly on Monday, as the strength of the US dollar affected the attractiveness of the yellow metal, at a time when markets were awaiting important economic data to obtain more information about the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates in the future.

Gold prices settled in spot transactions at $1919.89 an ounce by 0537 GMT. US gold futures fell 0.1 percent to $1,927.50.

The stagnant consumer spending in the United States in May indicates that the Fed’s recent hike in interest rates to tame inflation is bearing slow results. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred measure for tracking inflation, rose 4.6% year-on-year, after rising 4.7% in April.

Investors see an 87 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate hike in July, according to CME Group’s Feed Watch, and expect rates to remain in a range of 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent before falling in 2024.

Bullion fell 2.5 percent in the second quarter, in light of expectations that the US central bank’s policy of raising interest rates will continue. High interest rates reduce the attractiveness of investing in gold, which does not generate returns.

The dollar index approached a two-week high it hit on Friday, making gold expensive for holders of other currencies.

With regard to other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.5 percent to $22.87 an ounce, platinum rose 0.1 percent to $901.84, and palladium rose 0.9 percent to $1,237.97.