Gold futures extended losses from the prior session in European trade on Tuesday, as investors awaited testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen while looking ahead to Thursday’s highly-anticipated referendum on whether Britain will choose to remain in the European Union.
Gold for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped $5.15, or 0.4%, to trade at $1,286.85 by 06:44GMT, or 2:44AM ET. A day earlier, gold shed $2.70, or 0.21%.
Yellen is scheduled to testify on the economy before the Senate Banking Committee at 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET, Tuesday. She will appear in front of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services on Wednesday.
Her appearance comes less than a week after the U.S. central bank kept interest rates unchanged near record lows and lowered its projections for hikes in 2017 and 2018.
According to CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool, market players are pricing in a 12% chance for a rate hike in July and 33% for September. Odds for a December rate increase stood at 54%.
Meanwhile, investors are looking ahead to Britain’s June 23 referendum, which will ask voters whether the U.K. should remain a member of the European Union.
Concerns over a possible Brexit subsided after a series of recent polls showed the campaign to keep Britain in the EU had regained momentum ahead of Thursday’s referendum.
Gold soared to $1,318.90 late last week, the most since August 2014, as worries about a potential exit by the U.K. from the European Union left investors scrambling for safe haven assets.
Prices of the precious metal are up nearly 6% so far in June, as market players pushed back expectations for the next U.S. rate hike and amid mounting concerns the U.K. will vote to leave the European Union in a referendum this month.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for July delivery declined 3.4 cents, or 0.19%, to trade at $17.48 a troy ounce during morning hours in London, while copper futures eased down 0.9 cents, or 0.43%, to $2.079 a pound.
Source: Investing.com
