Gold futures inched down Friday as weak technical positioning and negative overall sentiment have most market participants resigned to lower near-term prices. Gold for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was last down $2.40 at $1,254.40 an ounce. Trade has ranged from $1,249.90 to $1,260.60. “There is no change in our view on the gold market; barring a serious conflagration out of the Ukraine that could involve the Russians, we think prices will likely continue to work lower given gold’s poor technical profile. However, we might see a steadier tone at least during Fridays session, as shorts cover heading into the weekend,� INTL FCStone’s Ed Meir said. Prices, nevertheless, should eventually settle around the $1,200-$1,220 level before the current downdraft exhausts itself, Meir added. In yesterday’s data, US preliminary first-quarter GDP declined 1.0 percent, more than the expected 0.6 percent, and pending home sales rose just 0.4 percent, whereas a 1.0-percent increase had been called for. But weekly fresh unemployment claims were better at 300,000. As for today, German retail sales disappointed at -0.9 percent against the expected 0.4 percent and Italian preliminary CPI numbers undershot at -0.1 percent. Later will see the release of core PCE price index, personal spending, personal income, Chicago PMI and revised UoM consumer sentiment and inflation expectations. The market will also be watching for the Chinese manufacturing PMI data – set to be released this weekend and forecast at 50.7 – for clues on the health of the world’s largest metal consuming nation. In the wider-markets, the euro was 0.13 percent stronger at 1.3619 against the dollar, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC-40 were down 0.04 percent and 0.46 percent. In Asia, the Nikkei finished off 0.34 percent and the Hang Seng settled 0.31 percent higher. As for the other precious metals, Comex silver for July delivery was up 1.6 cents at $19.030 an ounce. Trade has ranged from $18.940 to $19.085. Platinum futures for July delivery on the Nymex were up $5.90 at $1,466.60 an ounce, while the most-actively traded palladium contract was at $833.90 an ounce, up 60 cents. The strike in South Africa’s platinum mining industry have moved into its 19th week yesterday, which equates to the loss of about 1.25 million ounces of platinum output, Commerzbank noted. “So the supply remains tight, reinforced by ETF investors. Both platinum and palladium ETFs have seen an influx this week of almost 28,000 and over 40,000 ounces respectively, and are steadily expanding their holdings,� the broker added.

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