On Tuesday gold prices were slightly higher in early U.S. trading.
Friday's US employment report for April; weekly Goldman Sachs and Johnson Redbook retail sales
reports due for release on Tuesday as well as a number of other reports are awaited.
June Comex gold was last up $3.30 at $1,190.10
an ounce.
July Comex silver was last up $0.049 at $16.49 an ounce.
Overnight, Australia’s central bank
cut its key interest rate to a record low of 2%. Asian markets did not show much reaction, as the news was hardly surprising.
In the euro zone, the report has showed that producer prices rose by 0.2% in March from February. The EU is still battling deflationary price pressures and this report shows more work needs to be done to suppress deflation-creep.
Separate data indicated that gold demand in India will rise sharply during April and May, by up to 80%, due to lower gold prices and easing government restrictions on gold imports. India is the world’s top gold consumer.
The key “outside markets” on Tuesday morning see the U.S. dollar index firmer on a short-covering bounce from recent selling pressure. Nymex crude oil futures are higher Tuesday and hovering not far below last week’s high just below $60 a barrel.
Traders await Friday’s U.S.
employment report for April. The key non-farm payrolls number is
forecast to come in at up 220,000. Look for Friday morning to be the most active
trading period of the week, in the wake of the jobs data, Kitco News says.
Data due for release Tuesday includes the weekly Goldman Sachs and Johnson Redbook retail sales reports, the U.S. international trade report, the U.S. services PMI, the ISM non-manufacturing report, and the IDB/TIPP economic optimism index.
