Gold at 11-month low after a 5-week decline

Gold is at an 11-month low as the dollar declined after investors lowered their expectations for the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes and assessed the inflation outlook. Spot gold tested $1,718 in early trades of the week.

Gold closed the fifth consecutive week with losses as investors preferred the dollar as a safe asset. Retail sales data released on Friday came in stronger than expected in June, pointing out that the economy is resilient despite the tightening monetary policy. However uncertain outlook continues in the global economy, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announcing that it will update the growth figures significantly downwards in its following statement.

Cautious statements from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and James Bullard suggest that there will be no 100 basis points increase.