Investing.com - Gold prices moved further below the $1,200-level on Tuesday, as investors looked ahead to U.S. retail sales data later in the session for further indications on the strength of the economy and the timing of an interest rate hike.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery touched an intraday low of $1,189.70 a troy ounce, the weakest level since April 1, before trading at $1,194.40 during European morning hours, down $5.10, or 0.43%.
A day earlier, gold declined $5.30, or 0.44%, to close at $1,199.30. Futures were likely to find support at $1,180.50, the low from April 1, and resistance at $1,224.50, the high from April 6.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.05% to trade at 99.79 early on Tuesday.
Demand for the greenback remained broadly supported by expectations for higher interest rates, as investors regained confidence that the U.S. economy would continue to recover after recent economic reports pointed to a slowdown at the start of the year.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery shed 10.6 cents, or 0.65%, to trade at $16.18 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery dipped 2.5 cents, or 0.91%, to trade at $2.694 a pound.
Copper traders looked ahead to the release of first-quarter gross domestic product figures out of China on Wednesday.
The data is expected to show the world's second largest economy grew 7.0%, slowing from 7.3% in the preceding quarter. Beijing has set a growth target of "around 7.0%" in 2015 after the economy grew 7.4% in 2014, the slowest pace in 24 years.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.