Gold futures settled lower on Tuesday, losing ground for a second straight session, as the dollar climbed higher ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.
The dollar index surged to 107.28 around noon, gaining about 0.75%. Most analysts expect a hike between 75 to 100 basis points by the U.S. central bank at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
Gold futures for August ended lower by $1.40 at $1,717.70 an ounce after moving in a tight band.
Silver futures for September closed higher by $0.207 at $18.535 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $3.3845 per pound, gaining $0.0300.
Data from the Commerce Department showed new home sales plunged by 8.1% to an annual rate of 590,000 in June after jumping by 6.3% to a revised rate of 642,000 in May. Economists had expected new home sales to tumble by 5.2% to an annual rate of 660,000 from the 696,000 originally reported for the previous month.
With the bigger than expected decrease, new home sales slumped to their lowest annual rate since hitting 582,000 in April 2020.
A separate report released by the Conference Board showed consumer confidence in the U.S. deteriorated by more than expected in the month of July.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slid to 95.7 in July from a downwardly revised 98.4 in June. Economists had expected the index to drop to 96.8 from the 98.7 originally reported for the previous month.
