Gold prices flat as firm dollar dents appeal

Article content

Gold prices were flat on Monday after

declining in the previous session, as an elevated dollar

continued to make greenback-priced bullion less attractive for

overseas buyers.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was little changed at $1,839.79 per ounce

as of 0056 GMT, with the dollar index hovering near its

highest levels in about two decades. U.S. gold futures

were flat at $1,840.30.

* Asian shares were trying to sustain a rare rally, as Wall

Street futures made early gains, perhaps hoping a U.S. holiday

Article content

would provide a break from recent selling, though worries about

global recession were never far away.

* Federal government offices, the Federal Reserve System,

stock and bond markets in the U.S. will be closed on Monday for

the Juneteenth holiday.

* Gold prices finished the previous week lower, falling 1%

on Friday, as a stronger dollar and interest rate hikes from

major central banks dented the appeal of bullion, which yields

no interest.

* Production at U.S. factories unexpectedly fell in May, the

latest sign of cooling economic activity as the Federal Reserve

aggressively tightens monetary policy to tame inflation.

* European Central Bank policymaker Klaas Knot said on

Friday the ECB may need to make several 50 basis point rate

Article content

hikes if inflation continues to rise and that he expected about

200 basis points of hikes.

* About 90% of traders and analysts in a Reuters survey

expected China to keep benchmark interest rates unchanged at its

monthly fixing on Monday, as global central bank tightening

limited room for policy maneuver to arrest economic slowdown.

* SPDR Gold Trust , the world’s largest gold-backed

exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 1.1% to 1,075.54

tonnes on Friday from 1,063.94 tonnes on Thursday.

* Spot silver firmed 0.1% to $21.68 per ounce,

platinum gained 0.2% to $934.34, and palladium

rose 1.8% to $1,847.36.

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by

Rashmi Aich)