On the economic front, US retail sales rose 0.2% in June, down from 0.5% in May and below consensus estimate of 0.5%. Last month, industrial production and manufacturing fell by 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively. Capacity utilization decreased to 78.9%. Next week, the FOMC will hold a two-day policy meeting in July. Many are predicting that the regulators will raise interest rates by a quarter point.
Another factor affecting the gold market was the return of the US Treasury bond market, which changed in efficiency, as 10-year yields fell 1.7 basis points to 3.772%. Two-month notes rose 2.5 basis points to 5.398%, while two-year notes fell 0.008 basis points to 4.331%. As is known, the gold market is very sensitive to interest rate fluctuations as it can affect the opportunity cost of holding unprofitable primed gold.
Meanwhile, gold benefited from the classic dollar more firmly as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.2% to above 100.00. But the DXY dollar index, which tracks the greenback's performance against other major currencies, is down nearly 3% this month. A weaker price favors dollar-denominated goods because it makes it cheaper for foreign investors to buy them.
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