* Fed’s Kashkari: Reasonable to predict December rate cut
* Palladium down more than 1%
* Dollar up for third straight session
June 17 (Reuters) – Gold prices slipped on Monday, hurt
by a stronger dollar and higher Treasury yields, while investors
awaited more U.S. data and comments from Federal Reserve
officials throughout the week for more cues on the outlook for
monetary policy.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at $2,319.99 per ounce as
of 10:11 a.m. ET (1411 GMT). U.S. gold futures fell 0.6%
to $2,334.90.
“There’s really a lack of major fresh fundamental news,
so the gold market is looking to the outside markets for
direction,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior market analyst at Kitco
Metals.
“Gold prices are probably going to grind sideways
between $2,300 and $2,400 until the next major fundamental
catalyst occurs, which may not occur until sometime in July.”
The dollar was up for a third straight session
against its rivals, making gold more expensive for other
currency holders. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields
ticked higher.
Traders are keeping a close watch on upcoming comments from
New York Fed President John Williams, Philadelphia Fed President
Patrick Harker and Fed Governor Lisa Cook.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Sunday
it’s a “reasonable prediction” that the U.S. central bank will
cut interest rates once this year, waiting until December to do
so.
Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of
holding non-yielding bullion.
The release of U.S. retail sales data on Tuesday, weekly
jobless claims on Thursday and flash purchasing managers’
indices on Friday could offer more clarity on consumption and
economic strength.
“Back-to-back weaker-than-expected inflation prints,
along with the less hawkish details of the FOMC (Federal Open
Market Committee) meeting, have seen appetite for gold
increase,” Ryan McKay, senior commodity strategist at TD
Securities, said in a note.
“However, with that said, plenty of uncertainty remains
regarding timing of expected cuts, and macro positioning’s beta
to data surprises will remain elevated in the near term.”
Spot silver slipped 0.8% to $29.30 per ounce,
platinum gained 0.3% to $960.45 and palladium
dropped 1.4% to $878.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel and Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru;
Editing by Paul Simao)
