IV:Gold edges lower as quarter nears end, U.S. jobs report awaited
Investing.com - Gold prices edged lower in cautious trade on Monday as the first quarter came to an end, while investors looked ahead to key U.S. jobs data later in the week for further indications on the strength of the labor market and the future course of monetary policy.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery held in range between $1,290.90 a troy ounce and $1,299.10 an ounce,
Gold last traded at $1,292.20 an ounce during European morning hours, down 0.16%, or $2.10.
Futures fell to $1,286.10 an ounce on Friday, the weakest level since February 12, before trimming losses to settle at $1,294.30, down 0.04%, or 50 cents.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,284.10 a troy ounce, the low from February 12 and resistance at $1,307.50, the high from March 27.
Comex gold prices lost 3%, or $40.50, last week, the second consecutive weekly decline, as upbeat U.S. economic data underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to raise rates sooner than previously thought.
Investors are looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for March, amid expectations for jobs growth of 200,000, after 175,000 jobs were added in February.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery inched up 0.29%, or 5.8 cents, to trade at $19.84 a troy ounce. Silver ended Friday’s session up 0.42%, or 8.2 cents, to settle at $19.79 an ounce.
Silver tumbled to $19.57 an ounce on Thursday, the lowest since February 5.
Meanwhile, copper futures for May delivery eased up 0.15%, or 0.4 cents, to trade at $3.044 a pound.
Copper remained supported amid indications that China’s government is prepared to do more to shore up the cooling economy after China's premier Li Keqiang said Friday that the country has policies in place to counter economic volatility.
The remarks helped ease concerns over recent signs of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
