Gold prices soften, see little relief from increased rate cut bets

Investing.com-- Gold prices weakened in Asian trade on Monday, taking limited support from increased expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts as traders awaited more cues from the Federal Reserve and U.S. economy this week. 

The yellow metal remained squarely within a trading range established through most of June, also making little headway as the dollar sank.

Spot gold fell slightly to $2,325.74 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in August fell 0.2% to $2,336.05 an ounce by 00:09 ET (04:09 GMT). 

Gold marks little gains as Sept rate cut bets increase

Sentiment towards metal markets, especially gold, remained strained even as traders increased their expectations for a September rate cut, following PCE price index data from last week.

The dollar index sank over 0.2% on Monday, extending losses from the prior session.

The CME Fedwatch tool showed traders pricing in a nearly 58% chance for a 25 basis point cut in September. 

While the prospect of lower rates bodes well for metal markets, prices made little headway as traders awaited a slew of cues from the Fed and the economy this week.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak on Tuesday, while the minutes of the Fed’s June meeting are due on Wednesday. 

Additionally, nonfarm payrolls data for June is due on Friday.

Other precious metals trended lower on Monday. Platinum futures fell 0.5% to $1,004.60 an ounce, while silver futures fell 0.5% to $29.405 an ounce. 

Copper retreats on mixed China PMIs 

Among industrial metals, copper prices retreated on Monday, extending recent losses as sentiment towards the red metal was dented by a mixed batch of economic readings from top importer China.

Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.6% to $9,545.50 a tonne, while one-month copper futures fell 0.5% to $4.3550 a pound. 

Sentiment towards China soured further this week as government purchasing managers index data released on Sunday showed the country’s manufacturing sector shrank for a second consecutive month.

But private data released on Monday showed the sector grew at its fastest pace in three years.

The mixed readings kept traders uncertain over just how an economic recovery in the world’s biggest copper importer was playing out. 

Concerns over China saw copper log steep losses through June.