Gold hit a four-week high on Tuesday, as a weaker dollar and a dip in U.S. Treasury yields boosted demand for the safe-haven metal amid mounting worries over an economic slowdown.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,778.69 per ounce, as of 0044 GMT, its highest since July 5.
* U.S. gold futures gained 0.2% to $1,791.10 per ounce.
* The dollar fell 0.2% to a near one-month low against its rivals, making greenback-denominated gold less expensive for other currency holders. [USD/]
* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields dropped to a four-month low, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold. [USD/] [US/]
* Data showed U.S. manufacturing activity slowed less than expected in July, with the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) index of national factory activity dipping to 52.8 last month, its lowest reading since June 2020.
* U.S. construction spending also fell 1.1% in June, as outlays on single-family homebuilding declined sharply amid rising mortgage rates.
* These weak U.S. economic readings pointed to a slowdown that could prompt the Federal Reserve to be less aggressive in its monetary policy tightening plans.
* Wall Street ended a three-day winning streak and crude prices plunged on Monday as economic data from the U.S., Europe and China showed demand weakening under inflation pressures. [MKTS/GLOB]
* China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun said a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan would undermine the Sino-U.S. relationship. Pelosi was set to visit Taiwan on Tuesday, three sources said.
* Spot silver fell 0.5% to $20.22 per ounce, platinum was down 0.5% at $892.83, and palladium eased 0.2% to $2,124.74.