MW: Gold contract falls as investors shed assets at large
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures slumped below $1,120 an ounce Thursday, with investors selling the metal along with shedding other assets including equities and the euro, amid persistent worries about the global economy.
Gold futures for June delivery fell $12.10 to stand at $1,181 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The commodity's weakness coincided with similar moves in U.S. stock futures and the euro, as investors seemingly opted to sell bullion to either lock in profits or cover margin calls from other markets.
Germany on Tuesday imposed a ban on some bearish bets in trying to curb financial speculation that officials there say is to blame for the debt crisis in the euro zone.
As Europe's common currency (CUR_EURUSD 1.2323, -0.0103, -0.8289%) fell, so did futures on dollar-denominaetd crude oil.
"Uncertainty remains high and sentiment is fragile. It's a sea of red in global equities as the euro weakens and as euro-zone spreads widen, and those are prompting a pick up in demand for the safety of Treasurys, bunds [German bonds] and the like," said analysts at Action Economics.
At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, the U.S. government will report its count of weekly jobless claims last week, with the number of those filing for initial benefits expected to fall by roughly 4,000.
Economic data later on include the Philly Fed index for May and leading economic indicators for April, both coming out at 10 a.m. ET.
