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Gold prices struggled for direction on Thursday, seesawing between losses and gains but staying on track to post a loss for the week.
Prices for the metal logged the third loss in four session on Wednesday. A boost in risk-appetite has led to gains in the U.S. stock market and dulling gold’s appeal as an safe-haven investment.
Price action
-
The most-active June gold contract
GC00,
+1.13% GCM23,
+0.23%
edged down by 90 cents, or nearly 0.1%, to $1,983.60 per ounce on Comex, with prices trading between a high of $1,993.40 and low of $1,971.60. -
Silver for May delivery
SI00,
+1.06%
SIK23,
+1.06%
increased by 15.9 cents, 0.7%, to $23.625 per ounce. -
Palladium for June delivery
PAM23,
+2.12%
increased by $44.40, or 3.1%, to $1,481.50 per ounce, while platinum for July
PLK23,
-0.59%
climbed by $11.20, or 1.2%, to $988.60 per ounce. -
Copper for May delivery
HGK23,
-0.09%
fell by nearly a penny, or 0.1%, to $4.0805 per pound.
Market drivers
“Gold is being constrained a bit by an up-tick in trader/investor risk appetite this week,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com, in a daily commentary
U.S. benchmark stock indexes traded broadly higher in Thursday dealings, drawing some investor attention away from gold.
The precious metal’s narrow trading range over the past few sessions is the result of traders waiting for economic-data reports, including the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of U.S. consumer price inflation due on Friday, analysts said.
“This is a massive week for economic data from the U.S., which has led to gold essentially trading in a holding pattern,” said Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia at StoneX.
The final estimate of fourth quarter 2022 U.S. gross domestic product released on Thursday, however, failed to provide much guidance for gold prices, which remained in a tight trading range.
The growth rate of the U.S. economy at the end of 2022 was reduced to 2.6% due to weaker consumer spending while corporate profits posted the biggest decline in two years. Initially the government said gross domestic product has increased at a 2.9% annual pace. The data imply that the economy was not as strong as it looked at the end of 2022.
Meanwhile, the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose to a three-week high of 198,000.
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