Gold Prices Slip Today Amid Positive US Data

Gold prices slipped early Wednesday while the dollar held its gains on the back of upbeat March US housing starts and industrial production figures. Spot gold fell 0.2 per cent to $1,344.20 per ounce, while US gold futures for June delivery dipped 0.2 percent to $1,347.50 per ounce. Domestic gold prices could take cues from global rates. Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akha Teej, is an annual festival considered auspicious by many to purchase gold. Akshaya Tritiya is being celebrated today. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was little changed at 89.556, after gaining 0.1 per cent overnight. The index touched a three-week low of 89.229 on Tuesday before pulling back on stronger-than-expected March US housing starts and steady industrial production figures.

Housing starts rose 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.319 million units, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts rising to a pace of 1.262 million units last month.

In a separate report on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.5 percent in March after jumping 1.0 percent in February.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams on Tuesday said he expects U.S. inflation to rise to the U.S. central bank's 2-percent goal this year and stay at or above that goal for "another couple of years," even as the Fed continues to raise interest rates.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States was engaged in direct talks at "extremely high levels" with North Korea to try to set up a summit between him and its leader, Kim Jong Un.

Syria's U.N. ambassador said a United Nations security team travelled to the Syrian town of Douma ahead of a planned visit by global chemical weapons experts on Wednesday to look into a suspected poison gas attack that sparked a U.S.-led retaliatory strike.

The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday that rising US-China trade restrictions threaten to damage a steady global growth picture, but there was still time for the world's two largest economies to step back from the brink.