Gold futures slipped on Tuesday as upbeat US economic data stoked worries about higher interest rates, eclipsing haven demand for gold amid geopolitical tensions.
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Gold for December delivery, the most active contract, fell $2.60, or 0.2%, to close at $1,296.70 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. While this was the first time in two weeks that gold closed below the psychologically important $1,300 level, prices remain up 7.9% year to date.
The day’s biggest mover was Indian silver, dropping 1.8 percent to settle at INR 42,720 ($702.40) per kilogram on Tuesday, August 19. US silver finished the day down 0.3 percent to $19.59 per ounce. The price of Chinese silver declined 0.1 percent to CNY 4,205 ($684.41) per kilogram. After a couple of days of decreasing prices, the price of Japanese silver held steady at JPY 636.00 ($6.20).
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The price of Indian gold bullion fell 0.3 percent to INR 28,348 ($466.10) per 10 grams. The price of US gold bullion remained essentially flat at $1,297 per ounce. The price of Chinese gold bullion flattened at CNY 257.30 ($41.88) following two-days of declines. Japanese gold bullion held its value on Tuesday at JPY 4,283 ($41.73) per gram.
US platinum bar ended the day at $1,438 per ounce, after the 0.5 percent drop on Tuesday. Chinese platinum bar prices saw a 0.3 percent decline to CNY 305.00 ($49.64) per gram. After dropping for two days, the price of Japanese platinum bar flattened at JPY 4,806 ($46.83).
Following two days of rising prices, the price of US palladium bar dropped 0.6 percent to $889.00 per ounce. Closing at CNY 194.00 ($31.58) per gram put the price of Chinese palladium bar at a month high. The price of Japanese palladium bar showed little movement on Tuesday at JPY 2,940 ($28.65) per gram.