US gold futures ended lower on Wednesday after an encouraging private-sector jobs report and relative Middle Eastern stability despite protests in Egypt deflected interest from bullion on to higher-risk assets. COMEX April gold futures settled down $8.2 at $1,332.10 an ounce on the COMEX division of the NYMEX. Ranged from $1,327.30 to $1,345.60 an ounce.
COMEX gold futures volume at just above 100,000 lots, 50 percent lower than its 30-day average, according to preliminary Reuters data. Spot gold fell 0.8 percent to $1,329.40 an ounce. COMEX March silver ended down 22.5 cents at $28.289 an ounce on technical selling. Ranged from $27.85 to $28.635.
Spot silver dropped 0.9 percent to $28.23 an ounce. NYMEX April platinum finished down $4.4 at $1,828.60 an ounce on profit-taking after recent gains based on better economic sentiment. Spot platinum lost 0.2 percent to $1,820.75 an ounce. NYMEX March palladium closed down $13 or 1.6 percent at $810.55 an ounce on platinum's decline. Spot palladium shed 1.2 percent to $809.50, having earlier matched its highest since March 2001 at $825.50.