May 11: Gold prices eased on Wednesday to a three-month low as an elevated dollar continued to pressure bullion while investors await monthly U.S. inflation data, which could have some impact on the Federal Reserve‘s monetary policy stance.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,832.06 per ounce, as of 0046 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,832.10.
* Gold prices fell for a third consecutive session to hit their lowest level since Feb. 11.
* The dollar hovered near recent 20-year highs, making greenback-priced bullion less attractive for other currency holders.
* Market participants will be keeping a close eye on U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data for April due at 1230 GMT later in the day.
* Analysts expect the CPI to show a sharp pullback in monthly growth, cooling to 0.2% in April from 1.2% in March – the biggest monthly jump in more than 16 years – and an annual increase of 8.1%, 0.4 percentage point lower than the prior 8.5%, which was the hottest reading since December 1981.
* Fed officials on Tuesday fortified their arguments for the swiftest series of interest rate hikes since at least the 1990s to combat inflation, while President Joe Biden urged the U.S. central bank to tame the price increases he said were hurting American households.
* Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation and a safe store of value during times of political and economic crises, but is highly sensitive to rising short-term U.S. interest rates, which raise the opportunity cost of holding zero-yield bullion.
* Spot silver dipped 0.1% to $21.23 per ounce, while platinum edged higher 0.1% to $964.64, and palladium
fell 1.2% to $2,040.25.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0130 China PPI, CPI YY April
0600 Germany HICP Final YY April
1230 US CPI MM, SA April