Gold rebounds for second session from one-month low

Gold prices rallied nearly one percent in American trade away from a one-month low hit earlier this week, as the dollar edged lower following earlier data from the US, the world's largest economy. 

As of 02:53 GMT, gold futures due on August 16 rose 0.62% to $1,253.50 an ounce from the opening of $1,245.80, while the dollar index inched down 0.02% to 97.54 from the opening of 97.56. 

Earlier US data showed unemployment claims rising as expected, while the housing price index rose 0.7%, or the same as before in April, as markets await the CB leading index for May later today, expected to slow down.

Federal Open Market Committee member Jerome Powell is scheduled to appear in front of the Senate Banking Committee in Washington, as investors look for any clues about the future of policy tightening this year

Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to increase interest rates by 25 basis points for the second time this year, while downgrading their projections for unemployment and inflation and keeping their growth forecasts intact, as the Fed announced its plan to normalize the balance sheet later this year and trim it down from its current $4.5 trillion levels.