Investing.com - Gold futures traded to two-month highs on Monday after the dollar slipped on mixed U.S. economic indicators, which sent investors jumping to the sidelines to await the U.S. June jobs report due for release on Thursday.
Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely with one another.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at 1,327.80 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, up 0.59%, up from a session low of $1,311.20 and off a high of $1,330.20.
The August contract settled up 0.23% at $1,320.00 on Friday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,305.40 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at $1,331.40, the high from April 14.
Soft regional manufacturing data offset upbeat housing data and prompted investors to avoid the greenback, which boosted gold's appeal as a hedge.
The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that pending home sales jumped 6.1% in May from April, rising to its highest level since last September. May's figure marked the largest increase since August 2010 and far surpassed forecasts for a 1.5% reading.
Still, the dollar slipped and gold rose after industry data released earlier revealed that the Chicago purchasing managers’ index declined to 62.6 this month from 65.5 in May, missing expectations for a 63.0 reading.
Investors were turning their attention to the U.S. June nonfarm payrolls report, which will release a day early on Thursday due to the Independence Day holiday on Friday, avoiding the dollar during the trading session ahead of time.
Markets were eager for the release of a key manufacturing gauge on Tuesday as well.
Meanwhile,silver for September delivery was up 0.02% at $21.138 a troy ounce, while copper futures for September delivery were down 1.13% at $3.204 a pound.