Gold prices see-saw in early Asian trade with Fed minutes this week eyed

Investing.com - Gold prices see-sawed between small gains and losses in early Asia on Monday with investors eyeing further cues on U.S. rates after the Federal Reserve releases minutes of its latest meeting later this week.

Gold futures for June delivery fell 0.07% to $1,224.40 a troy ounce in early Asia.

Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for July delivery rose 0.40% at $17.633 a troy ounce. Last week, silver surged 6.67% on the week, the third consecutive weekly advance.

Copper for July delivery was up 0.20% to $2.936 a pound, with China possibly releasing data on house prices for April year-on-year, with a drop of 6.1% seen in March.

Last week, gold prices pared back early losses to finish almost unchanged for the day on Friday after a fresh round of disappointing U.S. economic data sent the dollar broadly lower.

The drop in the dollar came after data showed that U.S. industrial production fell for the fifth straight month in April and another report showed that U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorated to a seven month low this month.

The Federal Reserve said industrial output slid 0.3% after a revised 0.3% decline in March. Economists had expected an increase of 0.1%.

The University of Michigan's preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment index for May came in at 88.6, down from a final April reading of 95.9 and worse than forecasts for a reading of 96.0

The reports came after disappointing data on retail sales and producer inflation earlier in the week and dampened hopes for a second quarter rebound after a sharp slowdown in growth in the first three months of the year.

The data underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will delay hiking interest rates until the economy is on a stronger footing.

Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Meanwhile, an industry report released on Thursday showed that global gold demand decreased 1% in the first three months of the year as growth in Indian jewelry buying failed to completely offset declining Chinese demand.

The World Gold Council said demand totaled 1,079.3 metric tons in the first quarter, down from 1,090 tons in the first three months of 2014.

The industry group also said that the first quarter was the first time since 2012 that gold demand by exchange traded funds showed net buying, totaling 25.7 tones.

In the week ahead investors will be turning their attention to Wednesday’s Federal Reserve minutes for clues on the possible timing of a rate increase. Friday’s data on U.S. inflation will also be closely watched.

Meanwhile, the euro zone is to release data on private sector activity and China is to publish preliminary data on manufacturing activity.

On Monday, Switzerland is to release a report on retail sales.

Markets in Canada will be closed for the Patriots day holiday.