Gold price below $1,300 on US data

The price of gold futures has been trading below $1,300 so far today as a strong dollar and better-than-expected US housing data dampened the metal’s safe-haven appeal.

On the COMEX, gold futures for December settlement were down 70 cents a troy ounce to $1,296.00 as of 12:23 BST, after finishing lower for the past three trading days. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.23 percent to 82.07, after touching 82.11 earlier – its strongest since September 9, 2013.

INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir told Reuters: "Robust housing reports out of the United States were important, as the stronger numbers should dispel concern that the sector is starting to slow, as was the conventional view for the past few weeks.”

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to publish the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) July 29-30 meeting today at 19:00 BST. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will speak at a central bankers’ meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday.

Most Fed officials project they will need to increase borrowing costs sometime next year. Higher interest rates in the US could be bearish for zero-yielding assets such as gold. The precious metal’s average price in 2013 dropped 15.6 percent from a year earlier, partly on expectations of the Fed tapering its asset purchase programme.