Gold price rises after Monday's selloff

Gold prices continued to advance after Monday's selloff as the headline manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management disappointed in December.

The ISM manufacturing index was at 58.7% last month, falling short of the consensus forecast of 60.0%. The monthly figure also marked a 2.4 percentage-point decline from November’s reading of 61.1%.

“This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 19th month in a row after a contraction in April 2020,” the report said.

Readings above 50% in such diffusion indexes are seen as a sign of economic growth, and vice-versa. The farther an indicator is above or below 50%, the greater or smaller the rate of change.