(RTTNews) - Gold was extending losses for a third session Thursday morning as traders continued to book profits after the exchange levied additional margins for traders.
The minimum margin requirement for traders in gold futures will rise 27 percent at the close of trading today, CME said. Earlier this week, the Shanghai Gold Exchanges said it will raise trading margins on its gold contracts to 12 percent from 11 percent effective August 26 and increase the daily trading limits to 9 percent from 7 percent.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, lost $44.80 to $1,712.50 an ounce. Yesterday, gold plunged over $100 to settle below $1,800 amid profit taking. Rising speculation of an imminent margin requirement hike from the CME Group, which owns Comex also proved bearish for gold.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down from 1,259.57 tons to 1,232.31 tons, its one-month low.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was trading mixed. The buck continued to drift lower versus the euro and the Swiss franc, while ticking higher versus the sterling and the yen.
In economic news from the euro zone, a consumer sentiment reading released from Germany showed that German consumer sentiment is set to worsen in September. The Gfk institute's forward looking consumer sentiment index is expected to decline to 13.4 in September from 44.6 in August
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were moving lower in morning deals.
In economic news from the U.S., the Labor Department will release its weekly jobless claims data at 8.30 a.m. ET. Economists expect the claims to edge down to 402,000 from 408,000 reported last week.
