Gold prices fell during these moments of trading today, Tuesday, as the dollar regained some of its strength, while investors await US inflation data scheduled for release this week to clarify whether there is a need for more interest rate hikes or not.

Gold and the dollar now

Gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,968 an ounce.

While spot contracts for gold fell by 0.17% to 1933 dollars an ounce.

On the other hand, the dollar rose by 0.15% against the major currencies, to 101.990 points.

gold when settling yesterday

Gold prices declined at the end of trading, yesterday, Monday, amid markets anticipation for the release of consumer price index data in the United States next Thursday.

And the yellow metal contracts for August delivery witnessed a decline of 0.30%, or the equivalent of $ 6.1, to reach $ 1933.5 an ounce.

a federal concern

Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities, said: The inflation reading, especially the core CPI, could be a major concern for the US Fed.

He added: The market is aware that the headline inflation is heading to the downside, but if there is any stability in the data, that could be a new bearish catalyst for gold in the short term.

Meanwhile, if CPI misses expectations and rises more than expected, that will raise the possibility of another rate hike when Fed officials meet again in September. Interest rate increases tend to raise bond yields, which raises the opportunity cost of holding zero-yielding bullion.

Gold prices fell for the second consecutive session, mainly driven by comments from Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman that interest rate hikes are needed in order to bring inflation down to the US Federal Reserve's 2% target.

The head of the New York State Federal Reserve said he expects interest rates to start falling next year, according to the New York Times.

Important Chinese data

Just released data showed that China's exports fell 14.5% in July year-on-year, while imports contracted 12.4%, in the largest drop in outbound shipments since February 2020. China is also the largest consumer of gold.

And according to data from the Chinese Central Bank yesterday, that China raised its gold reserves for the ninth consecutive month in July, as the Chinese central bank’s intensive purchases continue to support global prices of the precious metal.

Today, Monday, the central bank said that the bullion held by the People's Bank of China rose by 740,000 ounces, which is equivalent to about 23 tons. Total inventories now stand at 2,137 tons, with about 188 tons added in a series of purchases that began last November.

China, one of the world's largest gold whales, has led central bank purchases in recent months as it continues to diversify its reserves away from the US dollar. This has helped keep the price of the yellow metal high despite rising interest rates around the world, which usually depletes demand for non-interest-bearing bullion.

other metals

Spot silver rose 0.1% to $23.17 and platinum slipped 0.1% to $918.91. Palladium also fell 0.1% to $1,238.38.