Gold futures settled lower Monday, as investors await the outcome of the two-day Federal Reserve's policy meet later this week and on some upbeat macroeconomic data from the U.S. with homebuilder confidence surging and a positive New York manufacturing sector index for June.
In some positive economic news, homebuilder confidence in the U.S. jumped much more than expected in June, a report from the National Association of Home Builders showed Monday. The homebuilder confidence index has thus scaled a seven-year high in June.
Conditions for New York manufacturers improved modestly in June with the index of activity in the sector climbing to positive territory, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report said.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, shed $4.50 or 0.3 percent to close at $1,383.10 an ounce Monday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold for August delivery scaled an intraday high of $1391.40 and a low of $1,379.80 an ounce.
Last week, gold settled marginally higher with the dollar continuing to trend lower against some major currencies, even as investors continued to weigh prospects of the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting back on its monetary easing program in the near future.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,003.53 tons.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.81 on Monday, up from 80.62 late Friday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.83 intraday and a low of 80.59.
The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3336 on Monday, as compared to $1.3348 late Friday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3360 intraday and a low of $1.3320.
In economic news from the U.S., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its general business conditions index rose to a positive 7.8 in June from a negative 1.4 in May, with a positive reading indicating an increase in regional manufacturing activity. Economists expected the index at a positive 0.5.
Separately, a report from the National Association of Home Builders showed the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index soared to 52 in June from 44 in May. Economists expected the index to show a much more modest increase with a reading of 45. The index is at its highest level since hitting 54 in March of 2006.
Elsewhere, eurozone trade in goods with the rest of the world indicated a surplus in April, which was lower than a month earlier, data from Eurostat revealed. The trade surplus dropped to 14.9 billion euros in April from 22.5 billion euros in March. A year earlier, the surplus amounted to 3.3 billion euros. Exports grew 9 percent year-on-year in April, following a flat result in March. Imports rose 1 percent annually, recovering marginally from a 10 percent slump in the previous month.
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