NEW DELHI: Gold futures edged lower on Friday after strong weekly jobs data released in the US overnight increased appetite for riskier assets and lowered bullion’s safe haven appeal. The fall, however, remained limited, thanks to a weaker dollar and growing inflationary pressure in the US.
Gold futures for June delivery were down 0.40 per cent at Rs 48,350 per 10 grams on
. Silver futures for July delivery fell 0.80 per cent to Rs 71,729 per kg.
Data released overnight showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped further below 500,000 last week, but jobless rolls swelled in early May, which could temper expectations for an acceleration in employment growth this month, Reuters reported.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 4,44,000 for the week ended May 15, the Labor Department said.
Limiting gold’s fall was the Dollar index, which quoted below the 90-mark. Dollar and gold share inverse correlation.
“We are not over with the pandemic yet, most of the global world is in a second and third wave of the virus which makes growth look hazy and the central banks promise to do whatever it takes to bring back normalcy in the economy are push factors for gold prices. We see gold prices to move higher towards Rs 51,000 per 10 grams in a month and Rs 46,000-47,000 range stand good for accumulation with a stop loss of Rs 44,000 per 10 gms,” said Prathamesh Mallya of Angel Broking.
Earlier this week, Fed minutes of April policy review suggested that a number of policymakers were of view that if the recovery in the US economy holds up, it would be appropriate to “begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases”.
SPDR Gold Trust , the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.6 per cent to 1,037.09 tonnes on Thursday from 1,031.27 tonnes on Wednesday.
Gold prices in the international market were trading lower. Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,872.21 per ounce, but it has risen 1.6 per cent this week. US gold futures fell 0.4 per cent to $1,873.70 per ounce, Reuters reported. Palladium gained 0.5 per cent to $2,865.73 per ounce, silver eased 0.1 per cent to $27.72, while platinum edged 0.4 per cent higher to $1,200.57.