Gold futures prices fall ahead of key US data

Gold Bars

Gold and silver futures declined during Tuesday's trading as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of key US employment and inflation data later this week.

Gold futures for April delivery fell by 0.4%, or $19.40, to $5,060 per ounce.

Spot gold slipped 0.35% to $5,039.48 per ounce, while spot silver dropped about 1.95% to trade at $81.90 per ounce.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index — which measures the performance of the American currency against a basket of six major currencies — was nearly unchanged at 96.88 points as of 9:03 a.m. Mecca time.

Silver futures for March delivery lost 1.2% to $81.25 per ounce, while spot platinum fell 1.25% to $2,096.04 and spot palladium declined about 0.6% to $1,730.06 per ounce.

Markets are awaiting the release of US retail sales data today, followed on Wednesday by the monthly jobs report and unemployment rate, before the week concludes with the announcement of US consumer price index (CPI) inflation data.