Investing.com - Gold futures eased higher Thursday, as a lower greenback and increased hopes of a Greek political solution lifted the precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,596.05 a troy ounce during U.S. afternoon trade, easing higher 0.11%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.45% to trade at a session high of USD1,601.75 a troy ounce. On Wednesday, prices fell to as low as USD1,579.95, the lowest since January 3.
Gold futures were likely to find short-term support at USD1,572.65 a troy ounce, the low from January 3 and resistance at USD1,642.95, the high from May 7.
Gold prices followed currency market Thursday, tracking movements in the euro. Gold remains more sensitive to moves in the euro/dollar exchange rate in the short term than to rising risk aversion, which in the past has been a positive driver of prices.
The euro rebounded from a three-and-a-half-month low against the U.S. dollar as market sentiment improved slightly as Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos was to make a last attempt to form a government on Thursday.
Venizelos, who was the country’s former finance minister, said he would approach all political party leaders and try to get New Democracy, Syriza and Democratic Left to form a pro-European national unity government.
Meanwhile, gold fluctuated on the release of mixed U.S. data, which failed to reassure investors over the level of the country’s economic recovery.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 1,000 to 367,000, defying expectations for an increase of 1,000 to 369,000.
But the previous week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from 365,000.
Another report indicated the U.S. trade deficit widened more-than-expected in March, as exports increased 2.9% and imports grew 5.2%.
The U.S. trade deficit widened to USD51.8 billion in March from a revised deficit of USD45.4 billion in February, above expectations for a deficit of USD50.0 billion.
In addition Thursday, data indicated import prices in the U.S. fell more-than-expected in April, declining 0.5% after a 1.5% the previous month. Analysts had expected import prices to fall 0.1% in April.
Gold investors will be closely watching U.S. data in the second quarter for clues as to the likelihood of a fresh round of monetary easing, which could potentially hurt the dollar and support gold.
Meanwhile, Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs reiterated its bullish stance on the precious metal, despite a recent run of losses.
The bank stood by its forecast for a rally in gold this year, saying that the precious metal will advance to USD1,840 an ounce over six months as the Fed embarks on a third round of stimulus in June.
Gold prices have lost nearly 4% in the three sessions leading up to Thursday, as growing fears over an escalation of the debt crisis in the euro zone drove investors to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery gave back 0.02% to trade at USD29.24 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery advanced 0.94% to trade at USD3.69 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,596.05 a troy ounce during U.S. afternoon trade, easing higher 0.11%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.45% to trade at a session high of USD1,601.75 a troy ounce. On Wednesday, prices fell to as low as USD1,579.95, the lowest since January 3.
Gold futures were likely to find short-term support at USD1,572.65 a troy ounce, the low from January 3 and resistance at USD1,642.95, the high from May 7.
Gold prices followed currency market Thursday, tracking movements in the euro. Gold remains more sensitive to moves in the euro/dollar exchange rate in the short term than to rising risk aversion, which in the past has been a positive driver of prices.
The euro rebounded from a three-and-a-half-month low against the U.S. dollar as market sentiment improved slightly as Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos was to make a last attempt to form a government on Thursday.
Venizelos, who was the country’s former finance minister, said he would approach all political party leaders and try to get New Democracy, Syriza and Democratic Left to form a pro-European national unity government.
Meanwhile, gold fluctuated on the release of mixed U.S. data, which failed to reassure investors over the level of the country’s economic recovery.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 1,000 to 367,000, defying expectations for an increase of 1,000 to 369,000.
But the previous week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from 365,000.
Another report indicated the U.S. trade deficit widened more-than-expected in March, as exports increased 2.9% and imports grew 5.2%.
The U.S. trade deficit widened to USD51.8 billion in March from a revised deficit of USD45.4 billion in February, above expectations for a deficit of USD50.0 billion.
In addition Thursday, data indicated import prices in the U.S. fell more-than-expected in April, declining 0.5% after a 1.5% the previous month. Analysts had expected import prices to fall 0.1% in April.
Gold investors will be closely watching U.S. data in the second quarter for clues as to the likelihood of a fresh round of monetary easing, which could potentially hurt the dollar and support gold.
Meanwhile, Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs reiterated its bullish stance on the precious metal, despite a recent run of losses.
The bank stood by its forecast for a rally in gold this year, saying that the precious metal will advance to USD1,840 an ounce over six months as the Fed embarks on a third round of stimulus in June.
Gold prices have lost nearly 4% in the three sessions leading up to Thursday, as growing fears over an escalation of the debt crisis in the euro zone drove investors to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery gave back 0.02% to trade at USD29.24 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery advanced 0.94% to trade at USD3.69 a pound.