Gold trims gains on decline in US jobless claims

Gold prices finished in the red today, July 20, after the release of some economic readings that boosted the US dollar's gains and US Treasury yields.

Bullion trimmed its gains that reached the highest levels in two months, after the US Department of Labor’s data showed initial jobless claims fell to 228,000 in the week ended July 15, against expectations of an uptick to 242,000 applications.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing in an almost 100% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 25 basis points when the rate-setting committee meets next week.

Bullion for August delivery slipped by 0.5%, or $9.9, to $1,970.9 an ounce, after rising in early trading to touch $1,989.80/ounce.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, climbed by 0.6% at 100.88 points at 08:32 pm Makkah time.