Off the wire
• Lithuania establishes cyber security council  • Urgent: Gold up on downbeat economic data, weaker U.S. dollar  • Huge magma reservoir found beneath Yellowstone's supervolcano  • Urgent: Loretta Lynch confirmed as U.S. Attorney General in Senate vote  • Feature: Foreigners, locals enjoy Sant Jordi in Barcelona  • Road casualties in Austria hits record low in 2014  • CoE on combat drones: states must "scrupulously respect" limits set by int'l law  • Deutsche Bank fined record 2.5 bln USD for interest rate manipulation  • FTSE 100 closes higher on Thursday  • LME base metals close lower on Thursday  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: Gold up on downbeat economic data, weaker U.S. dollar

Xinhua, April 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange bounced back on Thursday as soft U.S. economic data dragged the U.S. dollar lower and increased the appeal of the dollar-denominated precious metal.

The most active gold contract for June delivery rose 7.4 U.S. dollars, or 0.62 percent, to settle at 1,194.30 dollars per ounce.

On Thursday, U.S. economic data came out mainly negative. Sales of new single-family homes tumbled 11.4 percent in March, pulling back from a seven-year high reached in the prior month and hitting the slowest pace since November, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The flash reading of the Markit manufacturing purchasing managers index fell in April to 54.2 from 55.7 in March. New export orders show their first decline in this report since November 2014. New orders overall are growing at their softest rate since January, said Markit Economics Thursday.

Additionally, a report released by the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday showed a higher-than-expected bump in initial jobless claims last week with the data increasing 1,000 from the previous week. Analysts, however, say that the trends in this report will likely raise expectations for a big snapback in the April employment report where the comparison against a very disappointing March is already very easy.

Against that backdrop, the U.S. dollar index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, edged down on Thursday, providing support for many dollar-denominated commodities including the perceived safety of gold.

Analysts caution that an increase in global and U.S. equities may soon put pressure on the precious metal, and that an increase in the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate expected sometime this year will keep gold on a downward trend.

Silver for May delivery added 3.3 cents, or 0.21 percent, to close at 15.829 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery rose 7 dollars, or 0.62 percent, to close at 1,136.70 dollars per ounce. Endite