Gold prices hover near one-month trough

Gold prices tilted higher in American trade after marking their lowest since May 17, as the dollar index gave up ground, following earlier US housing data. 

As of 02:55 GMT, gold futures due on August 16 rose 0.04% to $1,244.0 an ounce from the opening of $1,243.50, while the dollar index shed 0.04% to 97.72 from the opening of 97.76. 

US existing home sales rose 2.3% in May to an annualized 5.62 million units, compared to a 2.5% drop in April to 5.56 million, while analysts expected a 0.4% drop to 5.55 million. 

 Otherwise, US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin called on Congress to raise the debt limit as soon as possible, pointing to September as a good time to do it, while expecting tax reform plans to finish up later this year, saying the treasury ministry plans wide reforms beside taxes. 

Mnuchin also talked about the surging value of the dollar, noting its negative impact on exports, while asserting that dollar's strength reflects the markets' confidence in the US administration and president Donald Trump's performance, and finally, Mnuchin said he didn't take a decision yet on whether to keep Yellen at her job as the Federal Reserve Governor or hire a different one.