Investing.com - Gold prices retreated further from their highest level in 11 months on Thursday, as market players looked ahead to a key batch of U.S. economic data to gauge the strength of the world's largest economy and how it will impact the Federal Reserve's view on monetary policy.
The U.S. is to release reports on personal income and consumer spending for July, which include the personal consumption expenditures inflation data, the Fed's preferred metric for inflation, at 8:30AM ET (1230GMT).
There are also weekly jobless claims at 8:30AM ET, followed by the Chicago PMI at 9:45AM ET (1345GMT) and pending home sales at 10AM ET (1400GMT).
Comex gold futures shed $4.70, or around 0.4%, to $1,309.51 a troy ounce by 3:05AM ET (0705GMT), pulling back from its highest since November 9 at $1,331.90 touched on Tuesday.
Gold ended lower on Wednesday as upbeat U.S. economic data and a stronger dollar prompted prices to snap a three-session streak of gains.
The Commerce Department said its second estimate of U.S. gross domestic product showed that it increased at a 3.0% annual rate in the second quarter, its quickest pace in more than two years.
In addition, a report by payrolls processor ADP showed U.S. private-sector employers hired 237,000 workers in August for the biggest monthly increase in five months.
The ADP figures come ahead of the U.S. Labor Department's more comprehensive nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures slipped 6.5 cents, or around 0.4%, to $17.33 a troy ounce.
Among other precious metals, platinum fell 0.5% to $989.90, while palladium was little changed at $931.12 an ounce.
Meanwhile, copper futures rallied to their highest level in almost three years after data showed that growth in China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly accelerated in August, suggesting the world's second-largest economy is still expanding at a healthy clip despite rising financing costs and a cooling housing market.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.