Investing.com - Gold prices fell to the lowest levels of the session below the key USD1,200-level on Thursday, following the release of data showing that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose to the highest level since late-March.
Bearish sentiment on the precious metal intensified after the Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it would begin to taper its bond-buying program to USD75 billion a month in January.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,199.60 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, down 2.85%. Comex gold prices fell by as much as 3.1% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD1,197.40 a troy ounce, the weakest level since June 28.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,180.35 a troy ounce, the low from June 28 and resistance at USD1,244.00, the high from December 18.
The February contract settled 0.4% higher in volatile trade on Wednesday to end at USD1,235.00 a troy ounce.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery plunged 4.4% to trade at USD19.17 a troy ounce, the lowest since December 4.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 379,000 last week. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 35,000 to 334,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 369,000.
The Fed announced Wednesday that it would reduce its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program by USD10 billion in January. In his last press conference as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy was continuing to make progress.
The U.S. central bank reiterated that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the Fed has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.
The move comes after months of uncertainty surrounding the future of the Fed's asset-purchase program. When market players started to anticipate the possibility of a reduction in stimulus early in the summer, it resulted in a sharp selloff in gold prices.
Gold is down approximately 29% this year, while silver has lost nearly 37%, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Fed will begin curbing stimulus.
Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery shed 0.7% to trade at USD3.295 a pound.
Bearish sentiment on the precious metal intensified after the Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it would begin to taper its bond-buying program to USD75 billion a month in January.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,199.60 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, down 2.85%. Comex gold prices fell by as much as 3.1% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD1,197.40 a troy ounce, the weakest level since June 28.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,180.35 a troy ounce, the low from June 28 and resistance at USD1,244.00, the high from December 18.
The February contract settled 0.4% higher in volatile trade on Wednesday to end at USD1,235.00 a troy ounce.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery plunged 4.4% to trade at USD19.17 a troy ounce, the lowest since December 4.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 379,000 last week. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 35,000 to 334,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 369,000.
The Fed announced Wednesday that it would reduce its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program by USD10 billion in January. In his last press conference as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy was continuing to make progress.
The U.S. central bank reiterated that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the Fed has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.
The move comes after months of uncertainty surrounding the future of the Fed's asset-purchase program. When market players started to anticipate the possibility of a reduction in stimulus early in the summer, it resulted in a sharp selloff in gold prices.
Gold is down approximately 29% this year, while silver has lost nearly 37%, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Fed will begin curbing stimulus.
Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery shed 0.7% to trade at USD3.295 a pound.