Investing.com - Gold prices recovered slightly on Friday in Asia, but still traded below the key $1,300 level and are now near its lowest level of the month.
Gold futures traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were up 0.2% at $1,295.75 per ounce by 12:45 AM ET (04:45 GMT).
Strong U.S. labor and inflation data released overnight were cited as headwinds for the safe-haven gold today.
The Labor Department reported on Thursday that its core producer price index (PPI) for final demand increased 0.3% last month, above economists' forecasts for a 0.2% increase. In the 12 months through March, the core PPI rose 2.4%.
It also reported that initial jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000 for the week ended April 7, confounding expectations for a rise.
Meanwhile, the minutes published from its last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting showed the U.S. Federal Reserve has still not completely ruled out raising interest rates this year, putting pressure on the non-interest bearing gold.
“The minutes confirmed that if the economic data continue to support the economy, a rate hike could be on the table at the back end of this year. Luckily for the dollar bears, this wasn’t the majority view, at least, not for the time being,” said Naeem Aslam, analyst at ThinkMarkets, in an ETF Trends article.
“I do believe that for the time being the Fed is going to continue to sit on its hands and just monitor the situation carefully. The evidence of this comes from the fact that the gold price is still trading above the $1,300 mark. For bulls, this is a critical level, it sends a strong signal of recovery and hope. As long as the price stays above this critical mark, we have hope that the price may cross the $1,350 level,” Aslam said.