• Gold prices pared gains on Tuesday, hurt by the prospect of an interest-rate increase as early as March and a strengthening U.S. dollar.
• Gold for March and April delivery settled near flat at $1,225.40 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading as high as $1,236.00 earlier in the session. Prices edged lower for the fourth consecutive session.
• Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,228.00 an ounce on Wedenesday, after paring its gains the previous day on a firmer dollar.
• Gold was put under pressure as the U.S. Department of Labor released its producer price index report on Tuesday showing the PPI-FD increasing by 0.6 percent during the month of January.
• Analysts note that this report showed inflation which is a good sign for the U.S. economy because it will mean a Fed rate increase sooner rather than later. The U.S. central bank has seen significant strength in employment and has just been waiting for inflation to catch up.
• All of these factors combined to gold retaining its sharp losses from the trading day on Monday. Traders looking to the rest of this week for the consumer price index, retail sales report, and industrial production report are expected on Wednesday. Housing starts, jobless claims, and Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey will be released on Thursday.
• Silver for March delivery rose 6.8 cents, or 0.38 percent, to close at 17.889 dollars per ounce.
Reference: WSJ, Reuters, Xinhua
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