Gold prices fall prior to US economic data release

Gold prices fell on Thursday, before the release of economic data and amid the follow-up to the statements of officials in the United States about interest.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expects inflation to slow from its current levels by the end of this year, ruling out a continuation of annual inflation at the 5% level recorded in May.

Spot gold fell marginally by 0.1% to hit $1,776.62 per ounce, and gold futures contracts for August fell 0.4% to reach $1,777.20 per ounce, by 09:35am Makkah time.

Elsewhere, silver was down 0.6% to $26.01 per ounce, palladium fell 0.4% to hit $2,620.50 per ounce while platinum fell 1% to reach $1,077.31 per ounce.

The US dollar index - which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies – stabilized at 91.766 points.

The US unemployment claims data for last week is scheduled to be released later today, June 23, amid expectations of 382,000, as well as the final US GDP data for the first quarter amid expectations of a 6.4% rise.