Gold falls with focus on US inflation data

Gold prices fell on Tuesday, after taking a breather yesterday, ahead of key data releases in the US, which provide cues on the chances of a near monetary policy tightening.

Gold prices fell more than 0.3% to $1,787.48 an ounce, after opening at $1,793.49, and hit a high of $1,794.83.

Gold closed higher by 0.3% yesterday, after closing lower by 0.4% on Friday due to a rise in the US T-bonds.

Now investors await a variety of important US data on the inflation levels in the US during August, which would help determine the likely path of tightening the US monetary policy. 

At 12:30 GMT, the US consumer price index is expected up by 5.3% y/y in August from 5.4% in July, and the monthly reading is expected at 0.4% from 0.5%.

As inflationary pressures mount on policymakers, bets for a policy tightening by the Federal Reserve before yearend mounts in a step that will lead to interest rate hikes later on.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF rose 2.04 metric tonnes yesterday, the first daily increase since July 29, with the total at 1,000.21 metric tonnes.