Gold edges lower ahead of Yellen, looming Brexit vote

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