Gold rose slightly on Tuesday, yet still trades below $1300, after a report showing China’s services sector retreated in July, spurring demand on the metal as a safe haven.
Data released today from Chain showed that HSBC services PMI slipped to the benchmark of 50 last month from an expansion of 53.1 recorded in July.
However, the report had little impact on gold prices as yesterday’s data signaled that China’s manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in July.
Later in the day, eyes will focus on U.S. ISM non-manufacturing index, which may signal a rise to 56.5 in July from 56.0 in June.
Data released last week from the United States came mixed as while the economy expanded more than forecast in the second quarter, the labor market showed some slack.
Still, there are some hopes the Federal Reserve may rethink about raising borrowing cost earlier than market anticipations.
The U.S. dollar was little changed versus a basket of major currencies after it was pulled down from a 10-1/2 month peak last week on pessimistic nonfarm payrolls data.
The US Dollar Index is meanwhile hovering around 81.40 after touching a high of 81.65 on July 31.
Gold is currently trading around $1291.05 after hitting a high of $1292.22 and a low of $1287.21.
The yellow metal plummeted around 3.3 percent in July after it dropped from a peak of $1344.86 to find support at $1280 levels the previous week.
The geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and Gaza could not uplift gold prices as the attention remained on U.S. fundamentals.
Crude Oil for September’s delivery traded near the session’s opening around $98.38 a barrel.