Investing.com - Gold prices held near their highest level in around seven weeks on Tuesday, 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 June, which include the personal consumption expenditures inflation data, the Fed's preferred metric for inflation, at 8:30AM ET (1230GMT).
At 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT), the ISM will publish its manufacturing survey for July. Data on construction spending and auto sales are also on the agenda.
Comex gold futures for August were at $1,267.88 a troy ounce by 3:30AM ET (0730GMT), up $1.30, or about 0.1%. It touched its highest since June 14 at $1,270.80 in the prior session.
Prices of the yellow metal ended marginally lower on Monday, but closed out a solid July.
Gold logged a gain of 2.2% last month, its best monthly performance since February, as fading expectations for a third Fed rate hike this year combined with deepening political turmoil in the White House sent the dollar to 15-month lows.
Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures were little changed at $16.78 a troy ounce. It rose to $16.87 on Monday, a level not seen since June 29.
Among other precious metals, platinum was up 0.3% at $943.20, while palladium added 0.1% to $885.70 an ounce.