MW: Gold futures inch lower but remain above $1,600
By Myra P. Saefong and V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold prices fell Thursday, extending the previous session’s decline, as a drop in U.S. jobless claims last week and a better-than-expected improvement in consumer sentiment helped drive gains in the U.S. stock market.
February gold futures GC2G -0.55% fell $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,610.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
On Thursday, a gauge of consumer sentiment reached 69.9 in the final reading for December, compared with 64.1 in November, according to reports on the data from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters.
Earlier, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment-insurance benefits stood at its lowest level since April 2008. First-time filings for claims fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000 in the week ended Dec. 17. Read more on jobless claims.
U.S. stocks rose on the heels of the latest economic data, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.40% tacking on 0.3% at last check.
“We still see easing momentum for gold at the end of the month with small chance of physical buyers or longer-term investors returning before [the first quarter of 2012]. In the next few sessions, we expect to see some more volatility in thin pre-holiday trading,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, a metals analyst at VTB Capital.
Gold had ended lower on Wednesday for the sixth time in eight sessions. The metal has fallen around 8% month to date, though it’s held above the key level of $1,600 over the past two sessions.
“At lower prices around $1,600, there is physical demand which will continue till $1,580,” said Chintan Karnani, chief analyst at Insignia Consultants in New Delhi, adding that Comex gold needs to “break and trade” over $1,625 or else it will fall to $1,595 and $1,582.
He said “it will be difficult for Comex gold to fall below the $1,590-$1,600 zone today” and the market may see another wave of selling below $1,590.
Among other metals, March futures for silver SI2H -0.49% fell 0.5%, or 14 cents, to $29.11 an ounce. March palladium PA2H +0.10% was up 5 cents at $634.15 an ounce while January platinum PL2F -0.86% fell $15.70, or 1.1%, to $1,416 an ounce.
March copper HG2H +0.47% traded at $3.41 a pound, up 2 cents, or 0.5%.
Myra Saefong is a MarketWatch reporter based in San Francisco.
Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau.
