Gold prices fell today, Friday, as markets view strong US economic data as stimulus for the US Federal Reserve; keep interest rates high for a longer period, but caution ahead of inflation data and next week’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting will limit gold’s decline. Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1926.09 an ounce by 0944 GMT but hovered in a relatively tight range after dropping almost 1% in the prior session following the US data. US gold futures fell 0.1 percent to $1927.30. Data released on Thursday showed the US economy grew faster than expected, but most economists expect a recession by the second half of the year to be mild and short compared to previous recessions due to an unusually strong labor market. The dollar index has largely stabilized, making USD-denominated gold less attractive. Investors are looking forward to next week’s two-day meeting of the US Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee and expecting a 25 basis point hike in interest rates. In other precious metals, spot silver fell 0.7 percent to $23.72 an ounce.
