Investing.com - Gold continue to gain ground on Tuesday in Asia a day after China reported strong second quarter GDP, industrial output and retail sales figures for June with industrial metal demand for housing and property development also in focus.
Gold futures for August delivery rose 0.27% to $1,236.07 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper future on the Comex were flat at $2.726 a pound.
China released second quarter GDP growth with a gain of 1.7% that matched expectations and a year-on-year increase of 6.9% that came in slighltly higher than the expected 6.8%. At the same time, China reported industrial production gained 7.6% from a year earlier in June and retail sales rose 11% in June. AUD/USD traded at 0.7823, down 0.09% with China a top trading partner for energy, metal and food commodities, while USD/JPY changed hands at 112.44, down 0.09% as well.
A weaker dollar has helped shore up sentiment and gold prices. The market will now look towards Thursday and a meeting of the European Central Bank for fresh clues on when the central bank will shift away from its ultra-easy policy. Markets in Japan are shut on Monday for a holiday.
Last week, gold prices rose to two-week highs on Friday as weak U.S. inflation data added to doubts over whether the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates for a third time this year.
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