Investing.com - Gold prices fell on Monday as risk appetite crept back into markets, reducing demand for the safe-haven precious metal, while investors looked ahead to the start of the annual gathering of central bankers and policymakers at Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, fell $11.35, or 0.7%, to $1,512.25 a troy ounce by 10:23 AM ET (14:23 GMT).
Global equities and sovereign debt yields were on the rise, putting pressure on non-yielding bullion.
“A combination of a firmer U.S. dollar and modestly higher real U.S. yields is weighing on gold at the moment,” John Reade, chief market strategist at the World Gold Council, said.
Analysts also said that traders were cautious ahead of the annual Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole that kicks off on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the event on Friday amid expectations that he will all but confirm a rate cut in September.
“Given the policy uncertainties that may or may not unfold later in the week from the Jackson Hole symposium, gold could consolidate with a downward bias before eventually resuming its upward momentum,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at VM Markets, said in a note.
Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao, commodity strategists at ING, said that the latest data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission already showed some profit-taking, with a reduction of long positions but only a relatively small uptick in shorts.
“The underlying fundamentals remain unchanged and until trade and currency uncertainties ease, money managers may continue to hold onto longs in gold,” they said in a note.
Barani Krishnan, senior commodity analyst at Investing.com, noted a slowdown in gold’s recent rally and said investors were waiting for more signs of central bank easing, potentially from the Jackson Hole event, before committing to fresh long positions.
In other metals trading, silver futures lost 0.9% to $16.962 a troy ounce by 10:24 AM ET (14:24 GMT).
Palladium futures jumped 2.2% to $1,472.40 an ounce, while sister metal platinum gained 0.8% to $858.30.
In base metals, copper rose 0.4% to $2.604 a pound