Gold futures declined in the US on Thursday morning after new US data painted a picture of a rebounding economy into the second quarter.
Gold for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $5.60 or 0.5 percent to $1,179.30 per ounce. Trade has ranged from $1,176.20 to $1,186.60 so far.
In US data, weekly unemployment claims at 276,000 were below forecasts of 280,000. Revised non-farm productivity quarter-over-quarter in March declined 3.1 percent, below the projected 2.8-percent decline.
March revised unit labor costs quarter-over-quarter rose 6.7 percent, above the forecast 5.8 percent, while Challenger job cuts in May at 22.5 percent were down on the previous month’s 52.8 percent.
“Gold price action continues to be choppy ahead of key risk events this week,” Edel Tully, strategist at UBS, said in a note.
“While evidence of continued improvement in the US economy is not gold-friendly and ultimately acts as an obstacle for the yellow metal, the fact that this is generally what market expects limits the price impact to the extent that the data stays close enough to consensus,” she added.
Many market participants may be on the sidelines ahead of Friday’s crucial US jobs report – data from the country has increased importance while observers seek signs of a rebound in the second quarter.
Labour market data in particular was cited by the Federal Reserve as one of the key factors on its decision when to raise interest rates from near zero, where they have been since 2008.
Friday’s report is forecast to show that the US created 226,000 new jobs in May, up from 223,000 previously, while the unemployment rate is predicted to remain at 5.4 percent.
In other data today, the eurozone retail PMI came in at 51.4, the first time the number has not been below 50 since July 2014.
On Wednesday, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said the bank would be willing to do more to help lift the economy if needed. He also raised the bank’s eurozone inflation forecast for 2015 to 0.3 percent from 0 percent in its March predictions.
In Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reportedly rejected proposals put together by its lenders, arguing that any deal to unlock crucial bailout funds must be based on his own side’s conditions. But the two sides remain “very close” to agreeing a deal, Tsipras said, after creditors supposedly proposed lower primary surplus goals.
In equities, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC-40 were down one percent each, while the euro was unchanged at 1.1277 against the dollar.
As for the other precious metals, Comex silver for July delivery was down 1.7 cents at $16.310 per ounce. Trade has ranged from $16.255 to $16.500.
Platinum futures for July delivery on the Nymex were down $2.00 at $1,102.10 per ounce, while the most actively traded palladium contract was at $755.85, down $2.15.
(Additional reporting by Ewa Manthey, editing by Mark Shaw)
The post Gold falls on signs of improving US economy appeared first on The Bullion Desk.
No comments:
Post a Comment