Investing.com - Gold prices struggled near the lowest level in nearly two weeks during Europe's session on Thursday, as investors focused on the next set of U.S. data to see whether it supports expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the end of the year.
The most important piece of data Thursday are August retail sales at 8:30AM ET (12:30 GMT). The consensus forecast is that the report will show retail sales dipped 0.1% last month, after holding flat in July. Core sales are forecast to inch up 0.2%, after falling 0.3% a month earlier.
Declining retail sales over time correlate with weaker economic growth, while rising sales signal a strengthening economy. Consumer spending accounts for as much as 70% of U.S. economic growth.
Besides the retail sales report, the U.S. will also release data on weekly jobless claims, the Empire State survey and the Philadelphia Fed survey, all due at 8:30AM ET.
Industrial production is slated for 9:15AM ET (13:15GMT), while business inventories is due at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT).
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped $3.75, or 0.28%, to trade at $1,322.30 a troy ounce by 3:50AM ET (07:50GMT). A day earlier, prices slumped to $1,316.60, the lowest since September 2.
Markets are pricing in just a 15% chance of a rate hike at the Federal Reserve's September 20-21 meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool. For December, odds stood at around 53%.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates. A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery shed 8.3 cents, or 0.44%, to trade at $18.98 a troy ounce during morning hours in London, while copper futures eased down 0.1 cents, or 0.04%, to $2.154 a pound.