Gold futures were slightly higher on Thursday, as investors awaited the release of revised U.S. second quarter GDP later in the day for a fresh reading on the strength of the economy.
Comex gold for December delivery added $2.40, or 0.23%, to trade at $1,127.10 a troy ounce during European morning hours.
A day earlier, New York Fed President William Dudley said that the case for a rate hike in September is "less compelling" given the peripeteias on the international arean and volatility in financial markets. Dudley is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Fed minuted from the July meeting published last week signaled that Fed officials expressed broad concerns about lagging inflation and the weak global economy.
China's slowing economy and global market turmoil have renewed uncertainty over whether the Fed will start hiking interest rates next month.
Data released yesterday showed that U.S. core capital goods orders, a closely watched proxy for business spending, climbed 2.2% in July, the biggest increase since June last year.
Investors will now await the U.S. Commerce Department's second estimate on second quarter growth figures at 8:30 am ET on Thursday. Analysts expect the economy to have expanded 3.2% in the three months ended June 30, higher from a preliminary estimate of 2.3%, as an improvement in consumer spending and housing offset the drag from the energy sector.
The U.S. will also issue a weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as data on pending home sales for July, amid expectations for an expansion of 1.0% after falling 1.8% a month earlier.
Separately, investors will look ahead to the Federal Reserve's annual meeting of central bankers, analysts and economists in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, due to begin later today.
Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is not attending, but Fed Governor Stanley Fischer will take part in a panel discussion about U.S. inflation developments on Saturday.
