IV:Gold prices ease in Asia as focus turns to U.S. jobs data
Investing.com - Gold prices eased in Asia on Thursday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of U.S. November jobs data at the end of the week that will set the tone for the dollar.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,238.40 a troy ounce, down 0.71%, in Asia on a light data day. Overnight, gold prices hit a session low of USD1,211.10 a troy ounce and high of USD1,250.80 a troy ounce.
Gold prices dropped to five-month lows in recent sessions after a string of solid factory and other reports fanned expectations for the Federal Reserve to soon begin tapering its monthly bond purchases, which have elevated the yellow metal for over a year by keeping the greenback weak.
On Wednesday, however, mixed data allowed for a short burst of bargain hunting.
Payroll processing firm ADP reported earlier that non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 215,000 in November, blowing past expectations for an increase of 173,000.
November's figure was revised up to a gain of 184,000 from a previously reported increase of 130,000.
The news bolstered the dollar by keeping expectations strong for the Federal Reserve to announce plans to taper its USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases in early 2014.
However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the official November jobs report on Friday, and uncertainty ahead of time kept investors hanging on to gold positions.
The Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index declined to 53.9 in November from a 55.4 in October.
Analysts were expecting the index to ease down to 55.0 last month, and the disappointing figure gave gold some support.
In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau said new home sales rose by 25.4% to a seasonally adjusted 444,000 units in November, beating expectations for an increase to 428,000 and hitting a four-month high
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to a seasonally adjusted USD40.6 billion in October from a USD43.0 billion deficit in September, whose figure was revised from a previously reported deficit of USD41.8 billion.
Analysts had expected the U.S. trade deficit to narrow to USD40 billion in October.
On the Comex, silver for March delivery traded at USD19.618 a troy ounce, down 1.07%, in Asia.
