Gold prices eased on Tuesday's trading session after equity markets rallied on solid earnings and last week's better-than-expected jobs data. However, losses may be capped on speculations China will announce more stimulus, while the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to cut interest rate.
Gold eased on Monday after hitting a three-week high last week on safe-haven buying, spurred by the ECB's decision to cut interest rate and the Fed`s decision to continue its stimulus program.
Spot gold lost 0.51 percent or 7.54 points to trade at 1,460.89
Other metals:
- Silver fell 1.38% to trade around 23.65
- Platinum edged lower by 0.99% to 1,493.00
- Palladium dropped 1.03% up to 689.60
On Monday, gold trimmed early losses on speculations that China will announce more stimulus measures to boost economic growth, increasing the precious metal’s appeal.
Data released on Monday showed that economic growth in the world’s second largest economy has slowed. HSBC Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 51.1 last month, compared with 54.3 in March.
On Tuesday, the RBA decided to lower the nation’s official interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% during today’s board meeting.
Focus will beon the Bank of England (BOE), which is due to announce its monetary decisions for May later this week. Similar to previous months, the BoE is forecast to continue leaving both interest rate and asset purchases at 0.50% and 375 billion pounds.