Investing.com - Gold prices fell in Asia on Thursday with a slew of regional data aiding sentiment and a focus turning to the expected battle to get a tax cut passed in the U.S. that would likely have a knock-on affect on fed policy if successful.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 0.52% to $1,307.27 a troy ounce.
In Japan, provisional industrial production data for July fell 0.8%, more than a 0.5% decline expected.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index in China came in at 51.7 in August, beating expectations, data released Thursday showed.
Analysts polled by Reuters expected China to post official PMI of 51.3 for August, a tick down from 51.4 in July. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below that signals contraction. The non-manufcaturing, or services, came in at 53.4 in August, down from 54.5.
In Australia, private new capital expenditure for the second quarter jumped 0.8%, well above a 0.3% gain seen and private sector credit for July came in as expected, up 0.5%.
Overnight, gold prices eased from an eleventh-month high on Wednesday, following a rebound in the dollar, after a duo of better-than-expected reports on private job creation and economic growth raised expectations of a rate hike later this year.
Gold snapped a two-day winning streak as safe-haven demand fell in the wake of Donald’s Trump somewhat measured response to North Korea’s missile launch over Japan on Monday while upbeat US economic data fuelled expectations of monetary policy tightening.
ADP employment data for August estimated private-sector payrolls rose by 237,000 compared a consensus estimates of 185,000.
The stronger-than-expected private payrolls report, which often serves as a precursor to monthly nonfarm payrolls data slated for Friday, pointed to continued strength in the U.S. labor market, easing expectations the Federal Reserve may abandon its plan to hike rates later this year.
The Commerce Department raised its estimate of second-quarter GDP growth to an annual rate of 3% from 2.6% previously, beating economists’ forecasts of 2.8%.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in both bond yields and the U.S. dollar – A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency while a rise in U.S. rates, lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
The drop in gold prices comes against an uptick in buying activity among money managers, after net bullish bets on gold rose to the highest in nine-months, according to a report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week.
Some analysts believe gold will resume its climb higher over the near term but remain concerned over the longer-term direction as the technical outlook is “very cloudy”.