Investing.com - Gold prices fell in Asia on Monday as investors eyed demand prospects in China as a tad weaker than expected after official manufacturing and services PMI estimates for July.
Gold for August delivery eased 0.06% to $1,267.69 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For last week, the precious metal was up 1.08%, its third consecutive weekly gain.
The CFLP manufacturing PMI reached 51.4, a tad below expected, but still in expansion, while a 54.5 for the services PMI also was een as steady. The private Caixin manufacturing reading is due on Tuesday with a reading of 50.4 seen. Any level above 50 denotes expansion.
The services sector accounted for over half of China\'s economy last year as rising wages give Chinese consumers the opportunity to shop, travel and eat out more. China\'s leaders are counting on growth in services and consumption to rebalance their economic growth
Earlier, Japan reported industrial production data for June rose 1.6%, compared to an expected provisional 1.7% gain.
Later, Australia reported private sector credit rose 0.6%, compared with a gain of 0.4% seen in June.