Gold settles lower, dollar slips in Asia

Gold futures tilted lower in Asian trade to near year lows, as the dollar index barely inched down, ahead of US employment data and after the conclusion of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony. 

As of 04:05 GMT, gold futures due on August 15 shed 0.25% to $1,224.80 an ounce from the opening of $1,227.90, while the dollar index dipped 0.06% to 95.03 from the opening of 95.09. 

US Data

Now markets await US data on unemployment claims, expected to have risen 6 thousand to 220 thousand in the week ending July 14, while continuing claims are estimated with a 14 thousand drop to 1.725 million in the week ending July 7. 

The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index is expected to have increased to 21.5 in July from 19.9 in June, while the CB leading index is estimated with a 0.5% rise, up from 0.2% in May. 

 In his two-day testimony before the two chambers of Congress, Jerome Powell pointed to strong economic growth this year with continued improvement in the labor market and inflation rates, while cautioning from short-term consequences to trade protectionism.