: Gold futures end higher after fall in ISM services index reading

Gold futures finished higher on Monday, giving up early gains, after data showed that U.S. businesses grew at a slower pace in May. With Federal Reserve officials now in their pre-policy decision blackout for speaking in public, “financial markets are left to focus on data alone, and today’s ISM survey reads very badly,” said Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of service-oriented businesses fell to 50.3% in May from 51.9%. Gold continues to “mirror both the dollar and expectations for Fed interest rates very closely, so the U.S. services sector data has seen the precious metal reverse Friday’s jobs data slump as betting that the Fed will raise rates in two weeks’ time has evaporated,” said Ash. Gold for August delivery GCQ23 climbed $4.70, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,974.30 an ounce on Comex.

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