Investing.com - Gold prices eased in Asia on Thursday with the market looking ahead to comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen and U.S. GDP data at the end of the week.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery fell 0.09% to $1,222.75 a barrel.
Silver futures for July delivery rose 0.12% to $16.280 a troy ounce. Copper futures for July delivery were flat at $2.103 a pound.
Overnight, gold fell to fresh 7-week lows on Wednesday, extending sharp losses from the previous session, as investors continued to stake their bets on a summer interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Investors are looking to an appearance by Fed chair Janet Yellen at week's end at Harvard University for further indications on the timing of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) first interest rate hike in 2016.
In two rare public appearances this spring, Yellen has largely maintained a dovish stance that the Fed will raise rates gradually in the current cycle, amid widespread volatility in global financial markets and persistently low inflation.
As well, the U.S. Census Bureau reports its second estimate for first quarter GDP on Friday morning, analysts expect to see a 0.4% increase from initial forecasts, amid possible upward revisions in consumption expenditures and business fixed investment.
Analysts also anticipate that the GDP Price Index will remain steady at 0.7%. In addition, the University of Michigan is expected to report a slight decline in consumer sentiment to 95.5, after the flash reading surged by almost 7 points to 95.8, its strongest level in more than a year.
The CME Group's (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:CME) Fed Watch tool indicated on Wednesday that there is a 31.9% chance the FOMC will raise rates in June, near the high end of estimates from earlier this week.
Some analysts appear concerned that the FOMC could delay a potential rate hike until after a controversial referendum on the U.K.'s status in the European Union on June 23. When the FOMC meets again in July, there is now a 45.7% that the committee will raise rates, up from 15.0% last month. Any rate hikes by the Fed this year are viewed as bearish for gold, which struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in rising rate environments.