Gold has posted losses to start off the week. In North American trade, spot gold is trading at $1273.22, down 0.67% on the day. On the release front, US indicators enjoyed a solid day. Retail Sales came in at 0.6%, above the estimate of 0.3%. Core Retail Sales also looked sharp, with the gain of 0.5% beating the forecast of 0.3%. There was more positive news from the manufacturing sector, as the Empire State Manufacturing Index soared to 25.2, crushing the estimate of 10.1 points. On Wednesday, the US releases Building Permits and Housing Starts. As well, the FOMC publishes its minutes from the July FOMC meeting. If there are any hints from the Fed about a rate hike in December, the slide in gold prices could continue.
US consumer spending numbers in July beat their estimates, raising hopes that consumers will continue to spend and boost the US economy. The strong gains in retail sales has helped raise investor risk appetite, which took a hit last week over the crisis in the Korean peninsula. This has boosted the stock markets, but hurt gold prices. Last week, tensions soared between the two enemies, sending gold about 2.4%, as investors dumped shares and snapped up the safe-haven metal. Tensions between North Korea and the US remain high, but the prevalent sentiment in the markets is that a diplomatic solution will be found to end the crisis. President Trump has his hands full at home as well. The latest fiasco for Trump was the alt-right protest in Charlottesville on the weekend, where one protester was killed by a suspected white supremacist. Trump initially refused to condemn white supremacists for the violence, and faced a strong backlash of criticism from both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. Trump finally came out with a statement on Monday which condemned hate groups, including white supremacists.
