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Gold down slightly on stronger U.S. equities

Xinhua, June 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell slightly on Tuesday as U.S. equities strengthened.

The most active gold contract for August delivery fell 0.40 U.S. dollars, or 0.03 percent, to settle at 1,247 dollars per ounce.

The precious metal was put under pressure as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) reached above the 18,000 mark for the first time since April. The DJIA rose by 63 points, or 0.35 percent as of 15:00 GMT. Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.

Gold was given support as the productivity and costs report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday showed nonfarm productivity falling by 0.6 percent, which was on the low end of expectations. Analysts note that while this is a weaker-than-expected figure, labor costs increased by 4.5 percent, and the compensation component increased by 3.9 percent.

Weakness in the U.S. dollar also prevented the precious metal from falling further as the U.S. Dollar Index fell on Tuesday.

Traders are waiting for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey due on Wednesday, the weekly jobless claims report due on Thursday, and the consumer sentiment report due on Friday.

Silver for July delivery lost 5.30 cents, or 0.32 percent, to close at 16.394 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery added 2.90 dollars, or 0.29 percent, to close at 999.40 dollars per ounce. Endit