LONDON: Gold slipped to a two-week low on Thursday as the dollar edged upwards despite a mixed bag of US economic data ahead of next week’s US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Spot gold fell as much as 1 per cent to $1,309.25 an ounce and was down 0.7pc at $1,313.43 by 1422 GMT, with US gold futures down 0.8pc at $1,316.20.

US interest rate futures indicate that expectations of a an increase next week remain low, but the dollar could benefit from anything in the Fed’s statement that hints at a hike before the end of the year.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising interest rates, which would lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets.

Spot gold looks neutral in a range of $1,319-$1,330 per ounce and an escape could point a direction, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.1pc to $18.97 an ounce.

Platinum was down 0.1pc at $1,028.49 and palladium gained 0.3pc to $655.30.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2016