WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled lower on Tuesday as the dollar edged higher amid slightly fading prospects of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in the near futures after data showed an increase in U.S. consumer price inflation in the month of February.
The dollar index, which dropped to 102.72 soon after the release of the inflation data, recovered swiftly and climbed to 103.18 before paring some gains. The index was last seen at 103.02, up nearly 0.14% from the previous close.
Gold futures for April ended down $22.50 at $2,166.10 an ounce, after eight successive days of gains.
Silver futures for May ended lower by $0.321 at $24.394 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $3.9320 per pound, gaining $0.0035.
Data from the Labor Department showed the U.S. consumer price index climbed by 0.4% in February after rising by 0.3% in January.
Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices also rose by 0.4% in February, matching the increase seen in January. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.3%.
The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth ticked up to 3.2% in February from 3.1% in January.
Meanwhile, the annual rate of core consumer price growth slowed to 3.8% in February from 3.9% in January. Economists had expected the pace of growth to decelerate to 3.7%.
While core price growth slowed by slightly less than expected, the slowdown still seems to have added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates.
The Labor Department is scheduled to release a separate report on Thursday on producer price inflation in the month of February.
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