Gold futures tumbled on Tuesday, despite a weakening US dollar and concerns surrounding the debt ceiling. But the yellow metal likely slumped on decent economic data, even as a credit crunch plagues the US economy. The precious metal has been retreating in recent sessions as it failed to break its record high from August 2020.

June gold futures tumbled $7.50, or 0.37%, to $2,015.20 per ounce at 14:03 GMT on Tuesday on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold is still up more than 10% year-to-date.

Silver, the sister commodity to gold, remained above $24. July silver futures declined $0.091, or 0.37%, to $24.20 per ounce. The white metal has erased all of its 2023 gains and is now flat on the year.

In April, retail sales rebounded by 0.4%, up from -0.7% in March. But this fell short of the market estimate of 0.8%. On a year-over-year basis, retail trade has eased to 1.6% amid slowing sales at gasoline states, apparel stores, electronics locations, and furniture outlets.

The one surprise was industrial production and manufacturing output as they surged 0.5% and 1%, respectively, in April. Year-over-year, industrial production rose 0.2% year-over-year, and manufacturing output slumped 0.9%. Capacity utilization edged up to 79.7%.

Business inventories fell 0.1% in March, while retail inventories ex-automobiles rose 0.3%.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Index climbed by five points to 50.0 in May, topping market forecasts of 45.0. This is the first time that the NAHB Index has squeaked into positive territory in nearly a year.

Gold prices also failed to take advantage of a slumping greenback as the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell 0.06% to 102.37, from an opening of 102.43. The lower index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, is typically beneficial for dollar-denominated commodities because it makes it cheaper for foreign investors to purchase.

The US Treasury market was mostly green across the board, with the benchmark ten-year yield up 4.7 basis points to 3.555%. The one-month bill edged up 2.3 basis points to 5.623%, while the 30-year bond added 5.5 basis points to 3.897%.

Gold is generally sensitive to movements in rates because they can impact the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

In other metal markets, June copper futures dropped $0.0615, or 1.64%, to $3.6895 per pound. June platinum futures picked up $1.60, or 0.15%, to $1,076.90 an ounce. June palladium futures shed $13.80, or 0.9%, to $1,516.50 per ounce.