Gold prices inched higher on Monday as Treasury yields edged lower, while investors await economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials through this week for clarity on the U.S. central bank's timeline on interest rate cuts.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.2% at $2,324.36 per ounce, as of 0155 GMT. U.S. gold futures also edged 0.2% higher to $2,336.70.

* Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields edged down and were last at 4.2496%, making non-yielding bullion more attractive for investors.

* U.S. business activity crept up to a 26-month high in June amid a rebound in employment. Data from last week showed first-time applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell moderately.

* Traders are looking out for the U.S. core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index report — the Fed's preferred measure of inflation — due on Friday to get more cues on the timing and scale of rate cuts.

* Investors also look forward to comments from Fed officials set to speak this week.

* Traders are currently pricing in about a 66% chance of a Fed rate cut in September, according to CME FedWatch Tool.

* Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

* Swiss gold exports in May were down from the previous month, owing to reduced shipments to India and Hong Kong, according to customs data.

* Physical bullion demand in India, the world's second-largest gold consumer, slowed down last week as prices approached near record high levels, dampening retail purchases in the absence of festivals.

* Spot silver rose 0.1% to $29.55 per ounce, platinum was down 0.2% at $990.30 and palladium lost 0.1% to $947.50.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT, June) 0800 Germany Ifo Business Climate New 0800 Germany Ifo Curr Conditions New 0800 Germany Ifo Expectations New (Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)