By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch)—Gold futures fell Thursday, as the dollar rose and other commodities and global stock markets also headed south in the wake of downbeat China manufacturing data.
Gold for April delivery GCJ2 -1.16% fell $15, or nearly 1%, to $1,635.70 an ounce. On Wednesday, gold rose $3.30, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,650.30, driven north by bargain-hunting.
Global markets fell after a preliminary reading of HSBC’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for March showed new orders at a four-month low.
China is a big user of natural resources and signs of slowing growth tend to weigh on commodity markets. Those assets have already come under pressure this week after a mining executive spoke of slowing demand for iron ore in the country. China factories slumping amid low demand
The dollar rose as investors shifted out of perceived riskier assets such as stocks and commodities, though gold is often viewed as a safe-haven asset. Read more on the dollar
The ICE dollar index DXY +0.39% , which measures the greenback’s performance against a basket of six other currencies, rose to 79.814, from 79.654 in North American trade late Wednesday.
Among other metals, May silver futures SIK2 -2.58% fell 37 cents, or 1.1%, to $31.86 per ounce.
Copper for the same month HGK2 -2.16% dropped 7 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.78 a pound.
April platinum futures PLJ2 -1.98% slid $19.40, or 1.3%, to $1,618.90 an ounce. Sister metal palladium for June delivery PAM2 -4.17% fell $16.70, or 2.4%, to $671.95 an ounce.
