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1st LD Writethru: Gold down more than 1 percent on stronger U.S. dollar

Xinhua, April 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Friday as a stronger U.S. dollar put pressure on the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for June delivery fell 20.3 U.S. dollars, or 1.63 percent, to settle at 1,230.00 dollars per ounce.

Strength in the U.S. dollar put pressure on gold as the U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose by 0.56 percent to 95.18 as of 1745 GMT.

Traders are eying the U.S. Federal Reserve's April Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting which is set to begin next week, and will be watching a press conference at the conclusion of the FOMC meeting for hints on the timing of a Fed rate increase.

Ever since March's FOMC meeting, traders believe that the Fed may raise rates from 0.50 to 0.75 during the July FOMC meeting. According to the CMEGroup's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to 0.75 is at 17 percent at the June 2016 meeting, and 35 percent at the July 2016 meeting.

The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average also put some pressure on the precious metal as it rose by 7 points, or 0.04 percent as of 1750 GMT.

There was little news and no economic reports released on Friday as traders were awaiting a slew of economic data news from the week ahead.

The new home sales report is due on Monday, durable goods on Tuesday, international trade in goods on Wednesday, jobless claims and gross domestic product is due on Thursday, and personal income and outlays is due Friday.

Silver for May delivery fell 19 cents, or 1.11 percent, to close at 16.9 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery dropped 20.7 dollars, or 2.01 percent, to close at 1,011.20 dollars per ounce. Endit