Gold extended losses on Monday from the previous session as Asian stocks were at near nine-month highs on increasing risk appetite and ahead of central bank meetings in the United States and Japan this week.
"We could see some falling of gold prices with markets thinking things are not as bad as expected post-Brexit and the good performance of key U.S. economic indicators," said Jiang Shu, chief analyst at Shandong Gold Group.
Central banks from Washington to Tokyo take centre stage this week, although policymakers are likely to remain cautious as they wait for the dust to settle from Britain's shock vote to leave the EU.
Gold fell, extending the first back-to-back weekly drop since May, as buoyant equity markets and gains in the dollar hurt demand ahead of central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan this week.
Bullion for immediate delivery dropped as much as 0.7 percent to $1,313.57 an ounce and traded at $1,317.19 at 10:48 a.m. in Singapore, Bloomberg generic pricing shows. The metal lost 1.1 percent last week after shedding 2.1 percent the week before. Prices slid 0.5 percent on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
Gold’s rally this year has been trimmed as a stronger dollar and rebound in equities cut demand for the metal as a store of value. The S&P 500 ended at a record on Friday amid signs of strength in the U.S. economy. Federal Reserve policy makers meet on July 26-27, with traders pricing in 10 percent odds of a rate rise, while the probability for a move in December rose to 45 percent from 12 percent at the beginning of this month.
“Market expectations of the Fed raising interest rates by the end of this year have increased significantly over the last two weeks, and it is likely that the Fed could be conveying a more optimistic message about the U.S. economy,” Vyanne Lai, an economist at National Australia Bank Ltd., said by e-mail. “This will likely bolster the strength of the dollar and weigh on gold prices.”
Reference: Bloomberg, Reuters