Gold prices still down, log steepest daily drop since July

Gold prices continued their downward trajectory today, Aug. 16, after falling yesterday at the largest daily pace in nearly a month, amid worries over a slowdown in global growth following weak Chinese data.

Gold futures for December delivery declined 0.44% to $1,709.1 an ounce at 11:15 am Makkah time. Similarly, spot prices shed 0.27% to $1,774.98 per ounce, after shedding 1.3% on Aug. 15, in the largest drop at the settlement since July 14.

Likewise, silver futures for September delivery weakened 0.92% to $20.25 an ounce. The spot price for platinum weakened 0.94% to $927.74, with the spot price of palladium also down 0.95% to $2,130.32 per ounce.

The main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, settled at 106.646 points.

All eyes are on the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting tomorrow, which may provide clues to the pace of interest rate hikes in Sept.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Aug. 15, Economist Nouriel Roubini said there are two possibilities for the US economy, either a deep recession or sustainable inflation.