Investing.com – Gold prices turned lower on Thursday, as the release of mostly positive U.S. data pushed the greenback higher, although concerns over protectionist U.S. policies and fresh turmoil in Washington continued to linger.
Comex were down 0.47% at $1,319.6 a troy ounce by 08:45 a.m. ET (12:45 GMT).
The U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims decreased by 4,000 last week to , compared to expectations for a fall to 230,000.
At the same time, a separate report showed that the Empire State manufacturing index rose to this month from 13.10 in February, beating forecasts for a reading of 15.2.
On a less positive note, the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index fell to in March from 25.8 the previous month, confounding expectations for a reading of 23.2.
The , which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.17% at 89.90.
Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency.
But the precious metal’s losses were expected to remain limitedm as markets were still jittery after U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday , considered more moderate in his administration. Tillerson will be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Fears of a potential global trade war were also reignited after Trump announced plans to on up to $60 billion of Chinese imports, specifically targeting the technology and telecommunications sectors.
Elsewhere on the Comex, were down 0.47% at $16.46 a troy ounce.
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Source: Investing.com
