Gold Price Lower On Rate Hike Chatter

London (June 1)  Gold futures were lower Thursday morning ahead of another round of closely watched economic data that may hint at whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in June.

Yesterday, the Fed's Beige Book collection of anecdotal evidence suggested the economy was seeing only tepid growth in a number of key districts, especially New York.

Still, the Fed is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter % at its upcoming meeting.

Gold was down USD6.80 at USD1268 an ounce, but remains poised for its fourth straight modest weekly gain.

The Purchasing Managers' Manufacturing Index for May is expected at 9.45 am ET. The forecasters are looking for 53, slightly up from 52.8 last month. The Institute For Supply Management's Manufacturing Index for May will be published at 10.00 am ET.

Construction Spending data for April will be out at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for growth of 0.5%, while it declined 0.2% in the prior period.

Source: AllianceNews