• Gold prices inched up on Monday as weaker-than-expected economic data from the U.S. and a missile test by North Korea over the weekend pressured the dollar.
• Spot gold <XAU=> was up 0.2 percent at $1,231.06 per ounce at 0529 GMT and hovered just above the 100-day moving average. The yellow metal rose 0.3 percent on Friday.
• "It (North Korea's missile test) is underpinning support for gold but at the moment its obviously not escalated to the point where investors are becoming overly worried about," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.
• "It (North Korea-U.S. relations) has been an issue for sometime. Throwing in Trump into the mix sends a bit of ambiguity into the market. So subsequently (investors are) a bit more cautious about the outcome than they have been in the past."
• "The data seems to be pointing to a weakening trend (in the U.S. economy). Based on what we have so far, unless there is more stronger data, more than two (U.S.) rate hikes are not very likely," Argonaut Securities analyst Helen Lau said.
• Traders are expecting an almost 100 percent probability of an interest rate increase in June, CME Group's FedWatch showed.
• Spot gold may end its current bounce in a narrow range of $1,229 to $1,236.60 per ounce, and then revisit its May 9 low of $1,214, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
• Hedge funds and other money managers cut their net-long position in COMEX gold to a six-week low in the week ended May 9, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed.
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> was up 0.6 percent to $16.55 per ounce.
Reference: Reuters
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