GOLD PRICE NEWS - The gold price rose $4.94 to $1,214.65 Thursday morning after a slew of disappointing economic data pushed the price of gold modestly higher. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which acts as a proxy for the gold price, was higher by 0.4% at $118.76 per share ahead of the U.S. equity market open. The spot gold price has closed within the range of $1,192 and $1,211 over the past ten days, following its 3.7% plunge on July 1. While several reports on the economy have been released in recent days, none have provided the catalyst to propel the gold price out of its recent trading range.

With this morning’s advance, the gold price cut its monthly loss to $29.00, or 2.3%. Over the same time frame, the shares of gold producers and gold explorers have followed a similar path as the price of gold, as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) has fallen $1.57, or 3.0%, in July. Notable decliners have included Barrick Gold (ABX), Kinross Gold (KGC), and Yamana Gold (AUY). Shares of ABX, KGC, and AUY have retreated 5.3%, 5.2%, and 4.4%, respectively.

In overnight trading, the gold price exhibited considerable volatility, rising as high as $1,218 and dropping as low as $1,203 after several key economic reports from China were announced. Chinese second quarter GDP came in at 10.3% – below expectations of 10.5%. China’s consumer price index for June increased 2.9%, while the producer price index increased 6.4%. Each of these inflation figures were lower than expected - as economists had predicted a rise of 3.3% and 6.8%, respectively.

The gold price recovered its losses this morning, however, as reports on inflation, employment, and manufacturing in the U.S. were released. The June Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.5%, versus market expectations of 0.1%. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was in-line with expectations at 0.1%. Weekly jobless claims came in at 429,000 - below the 450,000 expected by economists, although continuing claims rose from 4.434 billion to 4.681 billion.

Future potential catalysts that may drive the gold price out of its recent tight trading band come tomorrow, with the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. If this data follows the recent path of worse than expected figures, the gold price is likely to remain buoyant, as investors and traders will likely wager that the Federal Reserve will engage in even more aggressive monetary policy - including a new round of quantitative easing.