Investing.com - Gold prices headed lower on Tuesday, breaking a three-day winning streak, as a dip in Chinese business activity raised questions about demand prospects.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery inched down $1.22, or about 0.10%, to $1.276.48 a troy ounce by 5:56AM ET (9:56GMT).
China reported the official manufacturing PMI for October at 51.6, compared with a level of 52 expected, while its non-manufacturing survey dropped to 54.3 from 55.4 in the previous month, also showing weaker activity in the world’s second largest economy.
The U.S. dollar also put downward pressure on gold prices Tuesday as the greenback recovered from losses sustained from reports a day earlier that Federal investigators charged Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and another aide, Rick Gates, with money laundering. A third former Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty in early October to lying to the FBI, it was also announced on Monday.
Gold prices are sensitive to moves in the dollar as a stronger greenback makes the precious metal more expensive for holders of foreign currency.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, regained 0.14% at 94.51, by 5:57AM ET (9:57GMT) Tuesday.
Traders were also taking positions as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-policy meeting on Tuesday as they look for fresh clues on the likely trajectory of monetary policy. The U.S. central bank is not expected to make a move this week, with markets putting odds at around 98% for the next hike to come at the end of the year, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
On the U.S. data front, market participants will digest reports Tuesday on August housing prices, the Chicago purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for October and the Conference Board’s reading of consumer confidence for this month, all while looking ahead to the publication of the October nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.