On Wednesday gold gained in Asia, as investors bought on the physical market, discovering an opportunity after a painful fall overnight.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at $1,268.00 a troy ounce, UP 0.24%, after hitting an overnight session low of $1,263.20 and off a high of $1,288.60.
The US dollar strengthened and gold fell after the Institute for Supply Management reported that its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index jumped to 59.0 in August from 57.1 in July, defying analysts' calls for the index to tick down to 56.8.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
The new orders component of the index rose to 66.7, an increase of 3.3 points from 63.4 in July.
The report said the employment index grew for the fourteenth consecutive month, registering 58.1, down 0.01 points from 58.2 in July.
Moreover in the U.S., the Census Bureau reported earlier that U.S. construction spending rose to 1.8% in July from -0.9% in June, whose figure was revised up from -1.8%.
U.S. construction spending was expected to rise to 1.0% last month.
The numbers fueled market expectations for the Federal Reserve to wind down stimulus programs as early as next month and raise interest rates some time next year.
Loose monetary policies, including rock-bottom interest rates, dovish Fed language and three rounds of asset purchases, have boosted gold prices by suppressing interest rates since the 2008 financial crisis.
Silver for December delivery was up 0.50% at $19.248 a troy ounce. Copper futures for December delivery were down 0.05% at $3.157 a pound.
