Gold eases as steady dollar dampens appeal

Gold prices edged down on Monday as a steady U.S. dollar made bullion less affordable for overseas buyers, while investors awaited further clues on when the U.S. Federal Reserve would deliver its first interest rate cut.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold fell 0.3% to USD 2,328.20 per ounce as of 0112 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.3% at USD 2,339.70 per ounce.

* The dollar edged up 0.1% against its rivals. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

* The U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.3% last month, in line with forecasts, a development that is unlikely to change expectations that the Fed will hold off cutting interest rates until September.

* Fed policymakers sifting through the latest inflation data will find little to fuel a sense of urgency to cut rates, but also nothing to rule out the likelihood of rate reductions starting later this year.

* Lower interest rates boost the appeal of holding non-yielding bullion.

* China’s gold consumption in the first quarter climbed nearly 6% from a year earlier, the country’s Gold Association said.

* Physical gold dealers in India charged premiums last week for the first time in nearly two months as a pullback in domestic prices lured buyers, while premiums in top consumer China slipped. GOL/AS

* Impala Platinum said the restructuring of its South African operations could lead to 3,900 job losses as it battles low metal prices.

* China’s industrial profits fell in March and slowed gains for the quarter compared to the first two months, raising doubts about the strength of a recovery for the world’s second-biggest economy.

* Spot silver fell 0.2% to USD 27.12 per ounce, platinum was down 0.1% at USD 915.10, while palladium lost 0.8% to USD 946.75.

(Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)