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Gold futures edged lower Thursday, after pushing to a nearly two-month high in the previous session as investors weighed surging COVID-19 cases outside the U.S.
“After two straight days of gains, the gold bulls are pausing for breath around $1,790,” said Sophie Griffiths, market analyst at Oanda, in a note.
Gold for June delivery
GC00,
GCM21,
was down $5.70, or 0.3%, at $1,787.40 an ounce on Comex. May silver
SIK21,
was off 20.5 cents, or 0.8%, at $26.37 an ounce.
Gold had settled at $1,793.10 on Thursday, its highest level in nearly two months, with gains attributed in part to a fall in U.S. Treasury yields. Falling yields can be a positive for gold, reducing the opportunity cost of holding it and other commodities that don’t offer yields.
Meanwhile, surging COVID-19 cases India and Japan in particular “have revived fears over the global economic recovery,” said Griffiths.
India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday.
“These concerns have not only dragged U.S. interest rate expectations lower, boosting demand for nonyielding gold, but have also lifted demand for safe-haven assets,” Griffiths said.
Gold prices briefly pared losses in the immediate aftermath of the weekly U.S. jobless claims data Thursday. Jobless benefit claims fell to 574,000 last week from a revised 586,000 a week earlier, the U.S. Labor Department said.
Also on Thursday, The Conference Board said the index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose 1.3% in March. Existing home-sales fell 3.7% to a seasonally-adjusted, annual rate of 6.01 million last month, the National Association of Realtors reported, but median home prices rose by 17%.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank, as expected, left interest rates unchanged and made no changes to its bond-buying efforts on Thursday.
Among other metals traded on Comex, May copper
HGK21,
traded little changed at $4.28 a pound, after climbing 1.6% on Wednesday.
July platinum
PLN21,
shed 0.2% to $1,212.70 an ounce and June palladium
PAM21,
edged down by 0.9% to $2,850 an ounce after settling at a fresh record high a day earlier.
