Gold rises slightly as investors watch U.S. data for rate clues

Gold prices ticked up on Thursday as traders looked ahead to U.S. economic data, which could provide additional clues about a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week, News.Az reports.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $2,515.59 per ounce, as of 0353 GMT. U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,543.40.

"Gold will likely break above $2,532. Only strong macroeconomic data, particularly from the U.S., indicating significant growth or economic improvement, could stop its upward trend," said Kelvin Wong, OANDA's senior market analyst for Asia Pacific.

Traders will focus on the U.S. Producer Price Index and initial jobless claims print, scheduled for release at 1230 GMT, as well as consumer sentiment data coming out on Friday.

Headline PPI month-over-month is expected at 0.1%, while the year-over-year read is expected at 1.8%. This compares to prints of last month's 0.1% and 2.2%, respectively.

Data on Wednesday showed that U.S. consumer prices rose marginally in August, but underlying inflation showed some stickiness, which could discourage the Federal Reserve from delivering a half-point interest rate cut next week.

News.Az