US gold futures dropped more than 1 percent early on Wednesday as a broadly firmer dollar and the news of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) plan to sell gold weighed on the precious metals complex. June contract on Comex division of New York Mercantile Exchange down $10.00, or 1.1 percent, at $867.70 an ounce at 10:26 am EDT (1426 GMT). Ranged $865.10 to $883.30.
The dollar gained broadly on the back of hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official and weak retail sales data in the euro area, weighing on gold. Currency market movement was the major factor dragging gold lower, and gold futures are expected to trade in a $25 range in the near term, Comex Floor Trader Jonathan Jossen said. The next support level would be between $851 and $853 an ounce, but it's unlikely gold would tumble into that area unless the dollar rose sharply, he added. Comex estimated 9:00 am futures volume at 50,448 lots.
Spot gold was quoted at $865.15/866.35 compared with $877.40/878.60 at the close Tuesday. July platinum was down $14.80 at $1,955.80 an ounce. Platinum erased initial losses but was lower due to gold's weakness Spot traded at $1,944.00/1,964.00.
June palladium ended down $10.40, or 2.4 percent, at $421 an ounce. Spot at $418/426. July silver was down 25 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $16.610 an ounce, ranging from $16.535 to $16.980.
Comments
Comments are closed.