Gold prices slumped 1% on Thursday, erasing gains posted earlier in the session after stronger-than-expected consumer inflation in the United States cast doubts whether the U.S. central bank will cut interest rates as aggressively as expected. Spot gold shed 1% to $1,404.40 per ounce as of 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT), dropping nearly $15 after U.S. consumer prices demonstrated a pick-up in underlying inflation, increasing in June by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years. U.S. gold futures settled 0.4% lower to $1,406.70 per ounce. Gold prices had touched a one-week high of $1,426 earlier in the session. The Federal Reserve ... (full story)