Investing.com - Gold futures traded lower Thursday as a global slowdown in manufacturing combined with a stronger U.S dollar and an Indian Jeweler protest weighed on the precious metal
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded at USD1,638.65 a troy ounce during U.S. afternoon trade, plunging 0.71%.
It earlier fell by as much as 1.35% to trade at USD1,627.75 a troy ounce, the lowest since January 13.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,612.35 a troy ounce, the low from January 10 and resistance at USD1,661.75, Wednesday’s high.
Reports indicating China’s and Germany’s manufacturing sectors weakened help fuel the gold bearish sentiment.
In addition, a tax protest by jewelers in north and east India has resulted in a shutdown of about 50% of the nation’s jewelry stores. India is the world’s largest importer of bullion hence the shutdown weighs on prices
Gold prices have been under pressure in recent weeks as hedge funds and large institutional investors unwound long gold positions after the Federal Reserve gave an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy earlier in the month, which reduced expectations for a third round of U.S. monetary easing by the central bank.
Gold has fallen almost 9% since hitting rising to USD1,790 in late February and are about 15% below the all-time high of USD1,920 per ounce hit in September.
Gold prices continued to take cues from the currency market, tracking movements in the euro. Gold remains more sensitive to moves in the euro/dollar exchange rate in the short term than to rising risk aversion, which in the past has been a positive driver of prices.
Italian and Spanish debt yields continued their march higher, amid concerns over Spain’s slow progress in boosting its finances, while Italy faced stiff opposition to its severe austerity steps, with the country's largest trade union calling a general strike over labor reforms.
Meanwhile, Portugal is braced for a 24-hour general strike against the government’s austerity measures introduced by the government in return for the country’s EUR78 billion bailout.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.10% to trade at 79.90 in afternoon trade.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery plunged 2.4% to trade at USD31.46 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery tumbled 2.15% to trade at USD3.763 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded at USD1,638.65 a troy ounce during U.S. afternoon trade, plunging 0.71%.
It earlier fell by as much as 1.35% to trade at USD1,627.75 a troy ounce, the lowest since January 13.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,612.35 a troy ounce, the low from January 10 and resistance at USD1,661.75, Wednesday’s high.
Reports indicating China’s and Germany’s manufacturing sectors weakened help fuel the gold bearish sentiment.
In addition, a tax protest by jewelers in north and east India has resulted in a shutdown of about 50% of the nation’s jewelry stores. India is the world’s largest importer of bullion hence the shutdown weighs on prices
Gold prices have been under pressure in recent weeks as hedge funds and large institutional investors unwound long gold positions after the Federal Reserve gave an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy earlier in the month, which reduced expectations for a third round of U.S. monetary easing by the central bank.
Gold has fallen almost 9% since hitting rising to USD1,790 in late February and are about 15% below the all-time high of USD1,920 per ounce hit in September.
Gold prices continued to take cues from the currency market, tracking movements in the euro. Gold remains more sensitive to moves in the euro/dollar exchange rate in the short term than to rising risk aversion, which in the past has been a positive driver of prices.
Italian and Spanish debt yields continued their march higher, amid concerns over Spain’s slow progress in boosting its finances, while Italy faced stiff opposition to its severe austerity steps, with the country's largest trade union calling a general strike over labor reforms.
Meanwhile, Portugal is braced for a 24-hour general strike against the government’s austerity measures introduced by the government in return for the country’s EUR78 billion bailout.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.10% to trade at 79.90 in afternoon trade.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery plunged 2.4% to trade at USD31.46 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery tumbled 2.15% to trade at USD3.763 a pound.