Gold eases as steady dollar dampens appeal
Gold prices edged down on Monday as a steady U.S. dollar made bullion less affordable for overseas buyers, while investors awaited further clues on when the U.S. Federal Reserve would deliver its first interest rate cut.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell 0.3% to $2,328.20 per ounce as of 0112 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.3% at $2,339.70 per ounce.
* The dollar edged up 0.1% against its rivals. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
* The U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.3% last month, in line with forecasts, a development that is unlikely to change expectations that the Fed will hold off cutting interest rates until September.
* Fed policymakers sifting through the latest inflation data will find little to fuel a sense of urgency to cut rates, but also nothing to rule out the likelihood of rate reductions starting later this year.
* Lower interest rates boost the appeal of holding non-yielding bullion.
* China's gold consumption in the first quarter climbed nearly 6% from a year earlier, the country's Gold Association said.
* Physical gold dealers in India charged premiums last week for the first time in nearly two months as a pullback in domestic prices lured buyers, while premiums in top consumer China slipped.
* Impala Platinum said the restructuring of its South African operations could lead to 3,900 job losses as it battles low metal prices.
* China's industrial profits fell in March and slowed gains for
