Gold falls, sees no lasting boost from weak claims
New York (May 1) Gold pulled back Thursday, hurt by the Federal Reserve’s decision to continue trimming its bond-buying program.
The precious metal briefly pared its loss slightly after weaker-than-expected data on jobless claims, but then slumped back toward its intraday low.
Gold for June delivery /quotes/zigman/698029/realtime GCM4 -1.08% was last down $16.80, or 1.3%, to $1,279.10 an ounce, while July silver /quotes/zigman/698627/realtime SIN4 -1.04% shed 29 cents, or 1.5%, to $18.88 an ounce.
A day earlier, gold fought back from early losses but failed to settle in positive territory ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement.
“A lack of fresh, bullish news for the gold market is allowing the technical traders to dominate and the near-term technical posture for gold remains bearish,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com, in emailed comments on Thursday. Other gold watchers also see few drivers in the near term.
“There seems to be little conviction in the gold market at present, but we maintain the view that prices could retrace further,” said ANZ Research strategist Victor Thianpiriya. “However a strong catalyst for a breakout of the current $1,270-$1,320/oz range is lacking. Speculators have added to short positions while interest on the long side has declined, but neither position is significantly stretched.”
On the economic front, the number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose by 14,000 to a nine-week high of 344,000. But consumer spending moved up by 0.9% in March, topping forecasts, while personal income increased by 0.5%, matching expectations.
Later Thursday, a pair of surveys by the Institute for Supply Management and Markit are projected to show an acceleration in business in April. Friday will bring the much-anticipated monthly jobs report.
Elsewhere in metals trading, July platinum lost $15.50, or 1.1%, to $1,412.40 an ounce, while June palladium gained 55 cents, or 0.1%, to $813.05 an ounce.
High-grade copper for July delivery /quotes/zigman/678460/realtime HGN4 -0.15% was roughly unchanged at $3.02 a pound.
