Gold Ends Lower On Upbeat U.S. Data

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended lower Thursday, after having surged to a one-month high a day before, on some upbeat economic news from the U.S., with first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropping more than expected.

Some reports say talks with Iran on its nuclear program was nearing a deal, but did little to prop up the precious metal, even as the dollar weakened against a basket of major currencies.

In some positive economic news, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined in the week ended March 28, with claims falling to their lowest level in two months.

Meanwhile, new orders for U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly increased in February, on a jump in orders for non-durable goods more than offsetting a drop in orders for durable goods.

U.S. trade deficit narrowed much more than anticipated in February, with the value of imports registering another substantial decrease.

Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, shed $7.30 or 0.6 percent to settle at $1,200.90 an ounce, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.

Gold for June delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,207.40 and a low of $1,194.80 an ounce.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, remained unchanged at 737.24 tons on Thursday, from its previous close of 743.21 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 97.51 on Thursday, down from its previous close of 98.12 on Wednesday in late North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 98.28 intraday and a low of 97.33.

The euro trended higher against the dollar at $1.0888 on Thursday, as compared to its previous close of $1.0764 in North American trade late Wednesday. The euro scaled a high of $1.0903 intraday and a low of $1.0752.

In economic news, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended March 28, with claims falling to their lowest level in two months, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. Initial jobless claims dropped to 268,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised level of 288,000. Economists expected claims to edge up to 285,000 from the 282,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A Commerce Department report on Thursday showed an unexpected increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in February, with a jump in orders for non-durable goods more than offsetting a drop in orders for durable goods. Factory orders edged up 0.2 percent in February following a revised 0.7 percent decrease in January. Economists expected orders to fall by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.2 percent drop previously reported for the previous month.

A Commerce Department report on Thursday showed U.S. trade deficit to have narrowed much more than anticipated in February, with the value of imports registering another substantial decrease. U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $35.4 billion in February from a revised $42.7 billion in January. Economists expected the deficit to narrow slightly to $41.5 billion from the $41.8 billion originally reported for the previous month.

Elsewhere, the U.K construction sector expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in March, largely due to weaker growth of output and new orders, survey data from Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply showed Thursday.

Nonetheless, confidence among companies rose to the highest level in over nine years, helped by improving economic fundamentals and strong order books. The CIPS/Markit construction Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 57.8 in March from 60.1 in the previous month. It was forecast to drop to 59.8.