New York gold and platinum futures tumbled on Thursday, following closely the weakness in the energy market due to a speculative sell-off ahead of a key US inventory report. The June gold contract on Comex division of New York Mercantile Exchange down $19.40, or 2.1 percent, at $881.10 an ounce at 10:03 am EDT (1403 GMT).
June futures slumped earlier to $878.60, a two-week low. The session high was $903.20. Gold's inflation-hedge role dented as oil drops sharply to $129 a barrel. Bullion morning sell-off mainly triggered by decline in crude oil, FC Stone Broker George Nickas said. Spot gold was quoted at $881.40/882.40 an ounce, compared with $899.65/901.05 in late Wednesday trade.
July platinum was down $63.90, or 3.1 percent, at $2,003.00 an ounce, off its session low of $1,980.70 an ounce, a 3-week low.Spot platinum was quoted at $1,990.50/2,010.50.September palladium was down $3.75 at $436.00 an ounce. Spot palladium was quoted at $427.50/435.50.July silver futures were down 46.5 cents, or 2.7 percent, at $16.950 an ounce. Ranged $17.600 to $16.750, a two-week bottom. Spot silver was at $16.86/16.92 an ounce versus the $17.37/17.43 late quote of Wednesday.