UNITED STATES May 06 2015 12:28 PM
NEW YORK (Scrap Register): United States gold scrap prices remained flat on Tuesday, while gold futures prices at New York Mercantile Exchange advanced further as the dollar paused ahead of U.S. non-farm payroll data later in the week that could give clues as to when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.
As per Scrap Register Price Index, the 9ct hallmarked gold scrap traded flat at $427.752 an ounce and 14ct hallmarked gold scrap prices remained unchanged at $667.293 an ounce on Tuesday.
The prices of 9ct non-hallmarked gold scrap remained stable at $404.6 an ounce on Tuesday and 14ct non-hallmarked gold scrap traded flat at $631.176 an ounce.
However, the most active June gold contract on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled up $6.00 at $1,192.10 an ounce on Tuesday.
Gold futures prices extended gains after the European Commission raised its euro-area growth forecast as the impact of a weaker euro and unprecedented monetary stimulus help the economy. The Federal Reserve indicated it saw a slowdown in the U.S. economy as transitory and did not rule out a rate rise this year.
However, with an interest rate increase now likely in September rather than June, gold prices will probably remain in the current range for longer and will not drop as quickly as previously thought.
Speculation over the timing of a rate rise has kept markets on edge. Doubts still persist over the robustness of the U.S. economy as data has been mixed, with many traders pushing expectations of a rate increase from June to later this year.
