Gold fell to its lowest price in more than two months on Thursday, as worries about continued contraction in manufacturing in both the eurozone and China triggered a broad sell-off. Bullion ended down 0.5 percent, but off its earlier low on some technical support.
The metal, which has taken to follow riskier assets, was pressured as data showed manufacturing activity in both China and Europe have shrunk further. That more than offset a four-year low in US initial jobless claims. Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,642.65 an ounce by 2:56 pm EDT (1856 GMT). The metal earlier hit a low of $1,627.68, its weakest since January 13. US gold futures settled down $7.80 at $1,642.50, with trading volume about 10 percent below its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed. Spot platinum traded down 1 percent at $1,616.49 an ounce, and spot palladium dropped 4.9 percent to $647.33 as the metal unwound sharp recent gains driven by supply worries and better global economic sentiment.