Gold retreats as US yields firm; market awaits further Fed guidance

Gold prices fell on Tuesday, weighed down by higher U.S. bond yields, as markets await inflation data that could shed light on the scale of an expected interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next month.

Spot gold fell 0.1% to $2,515.09 per ounce, as of 11:37 a.m. ET (1537 GMT), having eased from the record high of $2,531.60 hit last week. U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $2,550.40.

"You're seeing some profit-taking by the shorter-term speculators after the recent gains... We do have some outside market forces today that are maybe a little bit negative, which would mean an uptick in bond yields," Jim Wyckoff, senior market analyst at Kitco Metals, wrote in a note.

The benchmark U.S. 10-year yields rose, making the non-yielding bullion less attractive for overseas buyers.

Investors now await data for the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), a key inflation report and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, on Friday.

A surprise of hotter-than-expected inflation data could slightly influence the Fed's policy, but its assured they will cut interest rates in September and possibly again this year, Wyckoff added.

Among other metals, spot silver rose 0.1% to $29.93 per ounce, while platinum was down 0.8% to $953.98 and palladium gained 1.1% to $969.61.