Investing.com - Gold futures held on to modest gains on Tuesday, following the release of U.S. inflation and housing data.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery tacked on 0.16%, or $2.10, to trade at $1,301.40 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours.
Prices held in a narrow range between $1,298.20 and $1,303.30 an ounce.
A day earlier, gold futures shed 0.53%, or $6.90, to settle at $1,299.30 as U.S. stocks surged on the back of upbeat U.S. homebuilder confidence data and amid easing concerns over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,293.00, the low from August 15 and resistance at $1,316.50, the high from August 15.
The U.S. Commerce Department said that the number of building permits issued last month jumped by 8.1% to a seasonally adjusted 1.052 million units from June’s total of 973,000. Analysts expected building permits to rise by 2.5% to 1.0 million units in July.
The report also showed that U.S. housing starts soared by 15.7% last month to hit a seasonally adjusted 1.093 million units from June’s total of 945,000, beating expectations for an increase of 8.6% to 969,000 units.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor said that consumer prices rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, meeting estimates, after rising 0.3% in June.
Consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% gain.
Core CPI increased at annualized rate of 1.9% in July, in line with forecasts and unchanged from a month earlier.
Market players now turned their attention to Wednesday's release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting as well as comments from the Fed's three-day conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which starts on Thursday, for further clues about the timing of future interest rate hikes.
The spotlight will be on Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who will speak on Friday in her first appearance at Jackson Hole as head of the U.S. central bank.
Also on the Comex, silver for September delivery inched up 0.17%, or 3.3 cents, to trade at $19.66 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for September delivery advanced 0.06%, or 0.2 cents, to trade at $3.111 a pound.