Gold gains in choppy trading, awaits cue from Federal Reserve

Gold prices rose in choppy trading on Friday after investors viewed the commodity as oversold after uncertainty over whether or not the Federal Reserve will scale back monetary stimulus measures sent prices plummeting in recent sessions.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery were up 0.82% at USD1,389.05 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Friday, up from a session low of USD1,377.85 and down from a high of USD1,391.65 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,366.25 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at USD1,423.25, Thursday's high.

Gold prices fell on Thursday amid uncertainty over the fate of Federal Reserve stimulus measures, which tend to make gold an attractive hedge.

By Friday, investors viewed the commodity as oversold though mixed data allowed for choppy trading.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier that the U.S. producer price index, which includes food and energy, rose 0.5% in May, beating expectations for a 0.1% rise after a 0.7% decline the previous month. 

The core producer price index, which is stripped of the more volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.1% last month, in line with expectations, after a 0.1% gain in April. 

However, the Federal Reserve reported earlier industrial production in the U.S. came in flat in May, missing expectations for a 0.2% rise though up from a 0.4% contraction the previous month.

Weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment data capped the dollar's gains.

Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 82.7 in June from 84.5 in May.

Analysts were expected the reading to remain unchanged at 84.5.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery was up 2.22% at USD22.063 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery was up 0.15% and trading at USD3.190 a pound.

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