Gold slips

GOLD futures were modestly lower yesterday to start August trade ahead of the latest update on monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, which could affirm a regime of higher rates that could lift the US dollar and dull appetite for bullion.

December gold GCZ8, -0,46 percent slipped $2,50, or 0,2 percent , to $1,231.10 an ounce, a day after the yellow metal marked the first gain in four sessions. Still, the December contract ended roughly 2,6 percent lower for the month, for a fourth straight monthly loss. Based on the most-active contracts, futures prices fell by 1,7 percent, according to FactSet data.

Meanwhile, September silver SIU8, -0,70 percent slipped by 9 cents, or 0,6 percent, at $15,460 an ounce, after ending July about 3,9 percent lower.

The slide for the metal on Wednesday follows modest gains in benchmark bond yields and a slightly stronger dollar, both factors that can undercut appetite for precious metals. Higher rates make commodities like gold less attractive compared against the perceived safety of Treasury’s while a stronger buck makes dollar-pegged assets more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, +1,60 percent flirted with a level near the psychologically significant level at 3 percent, while the dollar, as measured by the ICE US Dollar Index DXY, +0,04 percent was up 0,1 percent early yesterday. Independent market analyst Stephen Todd in a research note on Wednesday said gold’s “intraday comeback” on Tuesday, hasn’t pulled the downtrodden commodity out recent doldrums that have been based on expectations for higher rates and a stronger dollar in the near term. MarketWatch.