Investing.com - Gold futures edged lower on Friday, ahead of upcoming U.S. economic reports , while recent U.S. data dampened the precious metal's safe haven appeal.
Gold futures fall ahead of U.S. data
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,237.80 a troy ounce during European afternoon trade, down 0.19%.
The February contract settled 0.15% higher on Thursday to end at USD1,240.2 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,227.00 a troy ounce, the low from January 10 and resistance at USD1,2454.70, the high from January 14.
Gold prices weakened after the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday said that its manufacturing index improved to 9.4 this month from December’s reading of 6.4. Analysts had expected the index to rise to a reading of 8.6 in January.
The data came after a report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell to a six-week low.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending January 11 declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 328,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to hold steady at 328,000 last week.
Earlier in the week, the World Bank raised its forecast for global growth for the first time in three years, also adding to pressure on gold prices.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for March delivery fell 0.29% to trade at USD20.000 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery slipped 0.26% to trade at USD3.334 a pound.
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