Gold Prices Slip Lower Despite U.S. Data

Investing.com – Gold prices slipped lower on Thursday, as the dollar showed little reaction to downbeat U.S. data amid sustained uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs.

Comex were down 0.14% at $1,325.70 a troy ounce by 08:40 a.m. ET (12:40 GMT), after rising to 1,329.8 earlier in the day.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims increased by in the week ending March 3 to 231,000, compared to expectations for a 10,000 rise to 220,000.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to give more details later Thursday on his plans to impose tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports in a recommitment to his nationalist trade agenda.

Market sentiment waned after Trump’s economic adviser Gary Cohn announced on Tuesday. The decision was said to have been made following a disgreement between Cohn and the U.S. President over the import tariffs.

Traders fear that the proposed tariffs could spark inflation and provoke retaliation from U.S. trade partners. Major holders of U.S. Treasuries, including China and the European Union, could reduce their holdings of U.S. assets in response.

The White House said late Wednesday that Canada, Mexico and possibly other countries may be exempted at least for a while from the proposed tariffs.

The , which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 89.54, just off Wednesday’s two-week lows of 89.36.

Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A weaker dollar makes gold less expensive for holders of foreign currency.

Elsewhere on the Comex, were steady at $16.49 a troy ounce.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.