Spot gold nears $4,400/oz after preliminary Consumer Sentiment falls to 51, one-year inflation expectations rise

(Kitco News) - The gold market is trading near session highs after the latest data showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. declining, with shorter-term inflation expectations ticking higher.The University of Michigan announced on Friday that the preliminary reading of its Consumer Sentiment survey for August was 51. The data was worse than expectations, as the consensus forecast of economists called for a reading of 54.5. It was also significantly lower than July’s final reading of 55.2.