Gold drops but stays above $1800 mark

Gold was falling on Tuesday morning in Asia but settled over the $1,800 level. Hopes are also building that the U.S. Federal Reserve could pause its planned asset tapering thanks to the ongoing spread of coronavirus.

Gold was more up on Monday morning in Asia, with the greenback remaining close to multi-month highs. Nonetheless, remaining concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 globally and its impact on the economic improvement turned investors towards the yellow metal.

The dollar, which usually moves inversely to gold, crept up on Tuesday after dropping nearly 0.6% the day before.

In July, the latest U.S. economic data published on Monday was mixed, with enduring home sales at a higher-than-expected 5.99 million. Nevertheless, August’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI), Markit composite PMI and services PMI were 61.2, 55.4, and 55.2, individually.

Additional data expected

Further economic data to be published cover the GDP for the second quarter on Thursday and the core personal consumption expenses price index, besides personal income and spending data, on Friday.

Meantime, investors now look to the Fed’s yearly Jackson Hole symposium, due to take place from Aug. 26 to Aug. 28. The central bank is generally expected to provide evidence for its following asset tapering and interest rate hikes.

Ahead of the conference, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, who is amongst the Fed officials most supportive of starting asset tapering soon, said that he might need to modify that support should COVID-19’s Delta variant’s spread affect the economic improvement.

The Bank of Korea will also give down its policy settlement on Thursday.

SPDR Gold Trust (P: GLD) stated its holdings slumped 0.5% to 1,006.66 tons on Monday, from 1,011.61 tons on Friday.

In other precious metals, silver dropped 0.5%, while platinum was higher at 0.3%. Palladium was even at $2,401.13 following rising 5.5% through the previous session.