Gold Struggles To Stay Above $1200

 | Dec 16, 2014 05:42AM ET

Gold is steady on Tuesday, after sustaining sharp losses a day earlier. In the European session, the spot price stands at $1202.00. In the US, today’s highlight is Building Permits. The markets are expecting a slight loss in the upcoming reading, with the estimate standing at 1.06 million.

Gold prices started the week with losses, as the metal shed about 1.8% of its value on Monday, closing at $1198. Gold continues to trade close to the key $1200 level on Tuesday. Why the sharp drop on Monday? One reason is last week’s US numbers, as solid employment and retail sales numbers helped boosted the dollar. As well, the markets are expecting a bullish view of the US economy from the Federal Reserve policy statement on Wednesday.

In the US, UoM Consumer Sentiment moved higher for a fourth straight month, pointing to increased optimism among US consumers. The key indicator soared to 93.8 points, its highest level since January 2007 and well above the forecast of 89.6 points. Earlier in the week, there was good news from retail sales and jobless claims. Core Retail Sales came in at 0.5%, ahead of the estimate of 0.1%. Not to be undone, Retail Sales posted a gain of 0.7%, beating the estimate of 0.4%. This was the indicator’s strongest showing in 12 months. There was more good news on the job front, as Unemployment Claims dipped to 294 thousand, below the forecast of 299 thousand.

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