Investing.com - Gold futures traded slightly higher in the early part of Friday’s Asian, building on gains accrued during Thursday’s U.S. session amid a mixed bag of economic data points.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery rose 0.27% to USD1,415.85 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday after settling up 1.51% at USD1,412.75 a troy ounce in U.S. trading Thursday.
Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,373.25 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at USD1,444.15, the high from May 14.
Some mixed data points made gold’s safe-haven status appealing, at least for a day. In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said U.S. first-quarter GDP grew 2.4%, missing economists’ expectations of 2.5% growth. Government spending plunged 4.9%, well ahead of the 4.1% estimate.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 10,000 to 354,000 last week, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economists expected a reading of 340,000 claims. The less volatile four-week moving average rose by 6,750 to 347,250.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index for April inched up 0.3% to 106. That is good for the highest reading since April 2010. Economists expected an increase of 1.1%.
Gold also got a lift from talk that the Federal Reserve is not planning an imminent end to its asset-buying activities. Previous speculation that the Fed is mulling an end to QE has weighed on gold prices.
Elsewhere, Comex silver for July delivery rose 0.35% to USD22.770 per ounce while copper for July delivery added 0.14% to 3.322 per ounce.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery rose 0.27% to USD1,415.85 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday after settling up 1.51% at USD1,412.75 a troy ounce in U.S. trading Thursday.
Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,373.25 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at USD1,444.15, the high from May 14.
Some mixed data points made gold’s safe-haven status appealing, at least for a day. In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said U.S. first-quarter GDP grew 2.4%, missing economists’ expectations of 2.5% growth. Government spending plunged 4.9%, well ahead of the 4.1% estimate.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 10,000 to 354,000 last week, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economists expected a reading of 340,000 claims. The less volatile four-week moving average rose by 6,750 to 347,250.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index for April inched up 0.3% to 106. That is good for the highest reading since April 2010. Economists expected an increase of 1.1%.
Gold also got a lift from talk that the Federal Reserve is not planning an imminent end to its asset-buying activities. Previous speculation that the Fed is mulling an end to QE has weighed on gold prices.
Elsewhere, Comex silver for July delivery rose 0.35% to USD22.770 per ounce while copper for July delivery added 0.14% to 3.322 per ounce.