Gold prices traded marginally lower on Wednesday as traders awaited a report on U.S. consumer prices that’s expected to show inflation in the world’s largest economy picked up in August.
Price action
-
Gold futures for December delivery
GCZ23,
+0.14%
were off by 60 cents, or less than 0.1%, at $1,924 per ounce. - Silver futures for December were down by 21 cents, or 0.9%, to $23.19 per ounce.
-
Platinum for October delivery
PLV23,
-0.74%
fell by $8.80, or 1%, to $904 per ounce, while palladium for December delivery
PAZ23,
+0.34%
fell by $4.30, or 0.3%, to $1,241 per ounce. -
Copper for December delivery
HGZ23,
+0.21%
was off by 0.1% at $3.79 per pound.
Market drivers
Expectations for a hot reading on August U.S. inflation have helped drive the dollar higher alongside Treasury yields. The double-whammy has weighed on gold, since higher yields increase the return investors can reap from holding bonds, making gold, which offers no yield, less attractive by comparison.
Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expect consumer prices to have risen 3.6% year-over-year in August, compared with a 3.2% increase in July. If the data comes in at or above that level, it could heap more pressure on the yellow metal, analysts have said.
“A stronger dollar and firmer rates have weighed on gold,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in a note to clients on Tuesday.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
a gauge of the dollar’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.1% at 104.72. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y
increased by 4 basis points to 4.307% in early trade. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
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