Gold futures climb 1% before the weekend
Gold futures rose nearly one percent in American trade to the highest since July as the dollar index tumbled to a seven-month trough, following earlier data from the US, the world's largest economy.
As of 04:50 GMT, gold futures due on August 16 rose 0.82% to $1,227.30 an ounce from the opening of $1,216.40, while the dollar index shed 0.55% to 95.23 from the opening of 95.76.
Earlier US data showed consumer prices slowing down on a yearly basis in June, while retail sales fell further unexpectedly last month.
US industrial production grew more than expected in June, while the Capacity Utilization Rate rose below expectations, as business inventories match expectations in gains, while the preliminary UoM consumer sentiment survey fell unexpectedly in July.
Otherwise, producer prices rose last month, as core prices slowed down, while on a yearly basis, both readings slowed down in June, as unemployment claims fell less than expected last week.
The mostly negative data came after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen presented the second part of her Congressional testimony about monetary policy ahead of the Senate Banking Committee yesterday, and now could force the Federal Open Market Committee to hold on before tightening the policy in the July 25-26 meeting, weighing on the dollar and boosting the yellow metal.
UoM consumer sentiment survey drops unexpectedly
The University of Michigan released its preliminary survey on consumer sentiment, with a drop to 93.1 in July from 95.1 in June, missing expectations of no change.
As of 04:31 GMT, the dollar index, tracking the greenback against six major rivals, slid to 95.20 from the opening of 95.76, with an intraday low at 95.19, and a high at 95.83.
The current economic conditions index in the same survey rose to 113.2 from 112.5 in June, while economic expectations fell to 80.2 from 83.9.
One-year inflation expectations rose to 2.7% from 2.6%, while five-year inflation rose to 2.6% from 2.5% in June.
