2023.07.0517:59:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Lower As Dollar Rises Ahead Of Fed Minutes

Gold prices drifted lower on Wednesday as the dollar moved up ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.

Still, concerns about economic growth and weakness in stock markets supported the safe haven metal and limited its downside.

The dollar index climbed to 103.30, gaining about 0.25%.

Gold futures for August ended lower by $2.40 at $1,927.10 an ounce.

Silver futures for September ended up $0.290 at $23.402 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $3.7685 per pound, down $0.0255 from the previous close.

Data showing China's services activity expanded at the slowest pace in five months in June added to worries about a faltering post-pandemic recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

Elsewhere, Eurozone Services PMI was finalized at a 5-month low and the U.K. services PMI showed renewed signs of fragility, suggesting that major economies will fall into recession later this year.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased by much less than expected in the month of May

The Commerce Department said factory orders rose by 0.3% in May after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3% in April. Economists had expected factory orders to climb by 0.8% compared to the 0.4% increase originally reported for the previous month.