• Gold edged up on Thursday to hold just above an eight-week low hit earlier this week, with the U.S. dollar declining against the yen. Spot gold <XAU=> was up 0.2 percent at $1,220.56 per ounce by 0316 GMT. It hit an eight-week low of $1,213.81 on Tuesday.
• "Combined with a moderation in confrontational foreign policy rhetoric from the Trump administration in May, a 'market friendly' election result in France is helping to unwind demand for gold to hedge against political risk," BMI Research said in a note. "Receding risk aversion in Europe and hawkish language from the U.S. Federal Reserve will cap gold demand in the near term," BMI added, cutting its 2017 average gold price forecast to $1,250 per ounce from $1,300. The Fed should hike interest rates three more times this year, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said on Wednesday.
• Markets are pricing in around a 90-percent chance that the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its meeting next month.
• Spot gold is expected to test support at $1,209 per ounce, a break below which could cause a further loss to the next support at $1,188, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
• "From a pure technical-fundamental aspect, everybody would be eying $1,200 as the next level of support, but I think $1,215 support here is not out of the question," said Spencer Campbell, general manager with Kaloti Precious Metals in Singapore.
• "We have seen some ETF liquidation as people are feeling a little bit comfortable politically," Campbell said. "Military exercises are being expanded across Asia, in particular the Korean Peninsula. The lack of news in that particular area has taken the edge off the prices of gold, so the pull back has been inevitable."
• Spot silver <XAG=> gained 0.6 percent to $16.23 an ounce.
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