US gold futures ended lower on Thursday, but prices were still on track to seal their biggest yearly rise in three years, and a record 10th consecutive annual gain, on uncertainty about economic recovery and currencies. COMEX February gold futures settle down $7.60 at $1,405.90 an ounce on the COMEX division of the NYMEX. Ranged from $1,403.50 to $1,415.40 an ounce.
Gold dropped on profit taking after upbeat US data, including jobless claims, factory data and home sales, buttressed the view the economy gained momentum as the year ended. COMEX gold volume was slightly above 60,000 lots, two-thirds lighter than its average for the past 30 days but in line with lower turnover for most of the commodity complex, as many traders already closed their books ahead of the new year, according to preliminary Reuters data.
Spot gold slipped 0.4 percent to $1,404.80 an ounce at 1:52 pm EST (1852 GMT). Bullion set a record high of $1,430.95 on December 7. COMEX March silver ended down 19.1 cents at $30.513 an ounce, tracking gold Ranged from $30.360 to $30.930 an ounce - a 30-year high. The gold-silver ratio, used to measure how many ounces of silver buy an ounce of gold, slumped to a new 4-year low.
COMEX estimated silver futures volume was below 30,000 lots, about 65 percent lower than its 30-day average, according to preliminary Reuters data. Spot silver eased 0.2 percent to $30.49. NYMEX April platinum finished down $10.9 at $1,749.30 an ounce on precious metal weakness. Spot platinum dipped 0.7 percent to $1,747.25. NYMEX March palladium closed down $7.20 at $786.20 an ounce on platinum's coattails. Spot palladium eased 0.7 percent to $784.72.
Comments
Comments are closed.