MW: Gold trades lower, on pace for 3rd straight decline
Gold futures on Thursday traded lower, putting prices for the yellow metal on track to register a third straight decline as the U.S. dollar regained its footing above a key level.
April gold GCJ7, -0.79% was $7.70, or 0.6%, lower at $1,246 an ounce, while May silver was off 9 cents, or 0.5%, at $18.17 an ounce. A retreat for the precious metals come as the dollar, measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.26% climbed back above 100 after previously slipping below that level amid growing doubts about President Donald Trump’s ability to implement dollar-boosting fiscal policies.
However, weakness in Europe following the U.K.’s decision on Wednesday to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, officially triggering the country’s exit from the European Union, has renewed concern about the fate of the euro EURUSD, -0.4180% weakening the shared currency and the British pound GBPUSD, +0.4182% and helping to lift the buck.
The euro also weakened after a news report said European Central Bank officials had been alarmed by the market reaction to its March policy meeting.
A stronger dollar can weigh on commodities priced in the currency, making them less attractive to purchasers using other monetary units. The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.2% at 100.17 in recent trade and on track for a 0.4% gain so far this week.
“Gold is sitting on $1,250 as upward momentum slows for now and the price pauses for a rest,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in a Thursday note.
Dollar-pegged metals extended losses after a pair of economic reports: jobless claims and a revised reading of gross domestic product. The reports released early in the New York morning showed that the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in late March dropped by 3,000 to 258,000, keeping new claims near the lowest level in decades. Data also showed that the U.S. grew at a 2.1% pace in the fourth quarter and corporate profits continued to rebound.
Elsewhere on Comex, May copper HGK7, +0.13% lost a penny, or 0.2%, to trade at $2.763 a pound, while April platinum PLJ7, -0.17% gained $1, or 0.1%, to $957.40 an ounce and June PAM7, +0.52% rose $6.05, or 0.8%, to $796.55 an ounce.
In exchange-traded funds, The SPDR Gold Trust GLD, +0.24% fell 0.4%, the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners fell 0.7%, while the iShares Silver Trust SLV, +0.41% slipped 0.2%.
