After a sluggish start to the week, gold was trading in positive territory early Tuesday as a report showed that U.S. retail sales rose by a modest 0.1% in May.
The data released by the U.S. Census Bureau still fell short of Wall Street expectations of a 0.2% bump, an ever-present indication that inflation still had a toehold in the economy. When auto sales were excluded, sales posted a 0.1% decline last month.
Gold traded up $5.58 early Tuesday at $2,326 per ounce; silver was down $0.8 at $29.43.
The bureau reported that lower fuel prices made a dent in receipts at gas stations, which experienced a 2.2% decline in May.
Still, retail sales were up 2.3% above May 2023, while total sales for March through May 2024 were up 2.9% from the same period a year ago, according to the report.
Traders’ attention turned to the six Federal Reserve officials who were scheduled to speak later Tuesday as Wall Street hoped to get a clearer picture on the timing and size of any future interest rate trims. Last week, officials indicated one rate reduction in 2024.
On Monday, Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker told a conference that one reduction in the benchmark interest rate would be “appropriate” by the end of the year so long as current data pointing to a slowdown in inflation holds steady but cautioned that the Fed was still “surrounded by an air soaked with uncertainty” when it comes to predicting where inflation is heading.
