Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were nearly unchanged on Thursday after two days' sharp rally.
The most active gold contract for April delivery fell 0.3 U.S. dollars, or 0.02 percent, to settle at 1,238.80 dollars per ounce. Traders monitored the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average's rise with skepticism, and despite the fact that it rose by 156 points, or 0.95 percent as of 18:25 GMT.
Analysts believed that traders are anticipating further economic turmoil as there is continued pressure on the U.S. energy sector from the fall in oil prices. Gold was given some support as the U.S. Dollar Index fell very slightly to 97.38 to 0.05 percent as of 18:25 GMT.
The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.
However, the precious metal was put pressure as a report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday showed durable goods orders increasing by a better than expected 4.9 percent in January.
Analysts noted that much of the strength was due to aircraft sales but even excluding transportation orders, durable orders still rose 1.8 percent. The U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly jobless claims report Thursday, showing jobless claims increasing by 10,000 to 272,000, a figure which analysts noted is slightly higher, but remains near historic lows.
This points to continued strength in the jobs market, a good sign for the U.S. economy and bearish for gold. Silver for March delivery fell 12.7 cents, or 0.83 percent, to close at 15.17 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery dropped 16.7 dollars, or 1.77 percent, to close at 927.00 dollars per ounce.
Latest comments