Gold prices steady in anticipation of US economic data

Gold prices erased their losses at settlement today, July 1, after the yellow metal ended the month of June hitting its first monthly losses since last February.

Bullion for August delivery finished at $2,338.90 per ounce, erasing the session’s losses after slipping to $2,328.20 an ounce.

The US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, also remained flat at 105.92 points at 09:12 pm Makkah time.

Investors are now pricing in a 91.2% chance that the Federal Reserve would fix borrowing costs during the July meeting by 91.2%. Meanwhile, forecasts for a 25-basis-point reduction at the September meeting declined to 58.2%, from 60.5% a week ago.

All eyes are on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speech during the European Central Bank’s Central Banking Forum in Portugal on July 2. Moreover, the minutes of the US central bank’s last meeting are due on Wednesday, two days before the release of the monthly US jobs report.