Gold Price News: Gold Consolidates After Slipping Lower on Monday

Gold prices were little changed overall on Tuesday, showing little convincing movement as the market consolidated after a drop on Monday.

Gold traded at around $2,358 an ounce by late afternoon on Tuesday, having set an intra-day range of $2,350 to $2,372 an ounce. That compared with $2,360 an ounce in late trades on Monday.

US Fed chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday gave few clues about the timing of upcoming interest rate cuts in testimony before a congressional banking committee, with only two scheduled Fed meetings before the November 5 presidential election. Powell told lawmakers that the US economy is no longer overheated, according to news reports.

Recent data point to market expectations that the US Fed is most likely to begin cutting rates in September, although policymakers have stressed that any decisions will be based on economic data.

The pullback in gold prices so far this week comes in the context of a six-week high of just over $2,390 an ounce seen on July 5.

Elsewhere, global gold ETFs have seen inflows for a second consecutive month in June, with European and Asian buying offsetting outflows from North America, the World Gold Council said in a report on Tuesday: Sustained inflows in June narrowed H1 losses | World Gold Council

Nevertheless, the first half of 2024 was the worst six-month period for gold ETFs since 2013 (down $6.7 billion), with both Europe and North America seeing “hefty outflows” with only Asia seeing inflows over the period, it said.

Looking ahead, Wednesday will see further planned speeches by US Fed officials, while the market will be looking ahead to Thursday’s US core inflation figures for June. This measure of inflation has been falling steadily over the past 12 months, but at 3.4% in May, it remains well above the Fed’s target of 2%, albeit moving in the desired direction.