Investing.com – Gold futures continued to fall in mid-day Asian trade Friday, as dealers played into rising equities on Wall Street in the wake of numbers showing an improved picture of the U.S. job market.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,781.05 a troy ounce during Asian mid-day trade, down 0.52%.
Overnight, gold jumped to a new record high of USD1,813.79.
The U.S. Labor Department on Thursday reported initial jobless claims dropped in the week ending August 6, by 7,000 to a seasonally to 395,000, outperforming.economist’s expectations of a rise to 401,000 claims.
It was the first time that U.S. jobless claims fell below 400,000 since early April.
Gold prices have reached record highs in six of the last eight sessions and have jumped 13% since the end of June..
Contributing to falling gold prices, the CME Group, operator of the Comex announced Wednesday that it was raising the amount of cash that traders must deposit for speculative positions by 22%.
The CME increased the so-called initial margin to USD7,425 per contract from USD6,075. The higher rates essentially thin the market of smaller investors who must pay a higher fee to trade a futures contract.
Still, market analysts continue to forecast a rise in gold prices as dealers seek safer havens amid a global economic downturn and further possible debt woes in Europe.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch revised its 12-month gold price forecast to USD2,000 an ounce, joining JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and HSBC who all earlier raised their price forecasts.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery rose 0.42% to trade at USD38.85 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery eased 0.20% to trade at USD4.035 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,781.05 a troy ounce during Asian mid-day trade, down 0.52%.
Overnight, gold jumped to a new record high of USD1,813.79.
The U.S. Labor Department on Thursday reported initial jobless claims dropped in the week ending August 6, by 7,000 to a seasonally to 395,000, outperforming.economist’s expectations of a rise to 401,000 claims.
It was the first time that U.S. jobless claims fell below 400,000 since early April.
Gold prices have reached record highs in six of the last eight sessions and have jumped 13% since the end of June..
Contributing to falling gold prices, the CME Group, operator of the Comex announced Wednesday that it was raising the amount of cash that traders must deposit for speculative positions by 22%.
The CME increased the so-called initial margin to USD7,425 per contract from USD6,075. The higher rates essentially thin the market of smaller investors who must pay a higher fee to trade a futures contract.
Still, market analysts continue to forecast a rise in gold prices as dealers seek safer havens amid a global economic downturn and further possible debt woes in Europe.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch revised its 12-month gold price forecast to USD2,000 an ounce, joining JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and HSBC who all earlier raised their price forecasts.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery rose 0.42% to trade at USD38.85 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery eased 0.20% to trade at USD4.035 a pound.