Investing.com - Gold prices rose in Asian trading on Thursday as surprisingly robust manufacturing figures out of the U.S., Europe and China sparked hopes that green shoots of recovery were sprouting in the global economy, which wetted an appetite for risk that sent the greenback falling and gold rising.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded at USD1,752.35 a troy ounce, up 0.15%.
Gold futures were likely to reach technical support at USD1,743.91 a troy ounce and resistance at USD1,757.11.
The Institute for Supply Management’s U.S. manufacturing index jumped to 54.1 in January from 53.1 in December, and while slightly below some market expectations, the figure did break even further away from the 50 mark, the boundary between economic growth and contraction.
The Markit Economics manufacturing data based on a survey of purchasing managers in the euro region rose to 48.8 in January from 46.9 in December.
Positive output figures in Germany, the U.K. and China emerged as well, fueling the risk-on session.
Manufacturing figures prompted investors to sell their dollar positions and go long on stocks and currencies worldwide, thus ditching greenback positions in the process.
Since gold often trades inversely with the dollar, the risk-on session prompted a run to the yellow metal throughout the early portions of the day.
Some market watchers warned, however, that the gold rally could cool.
"Gold has been up for weeks. It is probably a stretch now and ripe for some profit-taking, but the technical and fundamental factors are not signaling a reversal yet," said George Gero, vice president of RBC Capital Markets, according to Reuters.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for March delivery was up 0.14% and trading at USD33.855 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery was down 0.21% and trading at USD3.826 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded at USD1,752.35 a troy ounce, up 0.15%.
Gold futures were likely to reach technical support at USD1,743.91 a troy ounce and resistance at USD1,757.11.
The Institute for Supply Management’s U.S. manufacturing index jumped to 54.1 in January from 53.1 in December, and while slightly below some market expectations, the figure did break even further away from the 50 mark, the boundary between economic growth and contraction.
The Markit Economics manufacturing data based on a survey of purchasing managers in the euro region rose to 48.8 in January from 46.9 in December.
Positive output figures in Germany, the U.K. and China emerged as well, fueling the risk-on session.
Manufacturing figures prompted investors to sell their dollar positions and go long on stocks and currencies worldwide, thus ditching greenback positions in the process.
Since gold often trades inversely with the dollar, the risk-on session prompted a run to the yellow metal throughout the early portions of the day.
Some market watchers warned, however, that the gold rally could cool.
"Gold has been up for weeks. It is probably a stretch now and ripe for some profit-taking, but the technical and fundamental factors are not signaling a reversal yet," said George Gero, vice president of RBC Capital Markets, according to Reuters.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for March delivery was up 0.14% and trading at USD33.855 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery was down 0.21% and trading at USD3.826 a pound.