Investing.com – Gold futures staked out gains in Asian trade Friday, bouncing from session lows following the release of an industry report showing U.S. manufacturing activity contracted at a slower rate than market expectations.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,826.85 a troy ounce during early Asian trade, up 0.11%.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management reported that its index of purchasing managers fell to 50.6 in the month of August from 50.9 the month before, better than analyst’s forecasts of a retreat to 48.5 for the month.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor released data for the week ending August 26, showing that the number of Americans filing for initial job benefits dropped by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 409,000, in line with market expectations.
A turndown in U.S. stocks helped support gold prices as investors stayed with precious metal positions rather than turn to risker equity investments.
Financial service provider Barclays said in a report, that although gold prices faced a possible correction in the short term, “long-term settlement is underpinned by a number of factors including low U.S. interest rates, stubborn inflation in emerging economies and a lingering euro-zone debt crisis.”
Barclay’s noted that it forecast golf prices to “venture into uncharted territory.”
A higher dollar contributed to dampened enthusiasm for gold purchases as a stronger greenback makes the precious metal more expensive for investors who hold other currencies.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was higher by 0.06% to 74.62.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery added 0.06% to trade at USD41.64 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery rose 0.17% to trade at USD4.147 a pound.