World gold prices this morning were stable with spot gold increasing by 2.5 USD to 1,922.4 USD/ounce. Gold futures last traded at 1,945.6 USD/ounce, down 1.6 USD compared to yesterday morning.
The precious metals market was quiet in the first trading session of the week due to the lack of data and events stimulating the market. Traders are waiting for inflation data for more clues about the upcoming direction of the US Federal Reserve (Fed). Specifically, the consumer price index report for August will be published on Wednesday morning. CPI is expected to increase by 4.3% over the same period last year, compared to an increase of 4.7% in the monthly report.
Information about the European Central Bank's policy meeting this week is also of interest to investors. It is expected that this bank will slightly increase interest rates by 25 basis points.
According to a recent report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, hedge funds continue to reduce their bearish price bets on gold. However, analysts note that bullish sentiment needs to improve if gold is to break initial resistance above $1,980 an ounce.