Gold declines for the second day in a row

Gold fell markedly reaching a two-week low move caused by the publication of inflation data from the US, which increased the likelihood of a hike by Federal Reserve later this year.

US Labor Department said that consumer prices rose more than expected in August as rising rents and health care costs offset a drop in gasoline prices, pointing to a steady build-up of inflation. According to the report, the consumer price index rose 0.2 percent last month after being unchanged in July. In the 12 months to August, the consumer price index increased 1.1 percent after rising 0.8 percent in July. Economists had forecast that the CPI will rise by 0.1 percent for the month and 1.0 percent per annum. The core CPI price which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3 percent, the biggest increase since February, after rising 0.1 percent in July. Core CPI rose by 2.3 percent in the 12 months to August, after rising 2.2 percent in July.

The surge in inflation is likely to be welcomed by representatives of the Federal Reserve when they meet next Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss monetary policy. According to the futures market, the likelihood of tighter monetary policy in September is 15% against 12% the previous day and at the December meeting a hike is estimated at 56.5% compared with 47.4% of the previous day.

"The inflation data were positive for the US dollar, and this put pressure on the gold price - ThinkMarkets, Naeem Aslam -. The precious metal is now trading close enough to the level of technical support $ 1,300, and if we overcome this level, it will be a bearish signal for gold" . The US Dollar Index, showing the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.7%. Since gold prices are tied to the dollar, a stronger dollar makes the precious metal more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.

Gold reserves in the largest investment fund SPDR Gold Trust fell yesterday by 3.3 tons. Meanwhile, the demand for gold in India remained weak which prevented higher prices for precious metals.

The cost of the October futures for gold on the COMEX fell to $ 1310.1 per ounce.