Gold futures fell on Thursday, a day after hitting their lowest settlement in about five years, as dovist comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi caused the dollar to strengthen.
December gold was $5 or 0.5%, lower in the early trade at $1,079.80 an ounce, after settling at $1,084.90 an ounce on Wednesday - the metal's lowest finish since early 2010, according to FactSet data.
Delivering opening remarks at the European Parliament in Brussels, Draghi said he would re-examine its monetary policy at its next meeting, comments that suggest the ECB is ready to take action to boost Europe's economy.
The dovish comments can weigh on gold because it boosts the dollar's appeal against the euro. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback against six rival currencies, including the Euro, was about 0.1% higher Thursday.
A stronger buck is a headwind to assets denominated in dollars, making them more expensive to foreign buyers using other monetary units.
However, gold's most haunting problem centers on the worries about a potential hike of benchmark interest rates by the Federal Reserve next month, which could diminish the appeal of the previous metal that doesn't bear interest.
A relatively upbeat reading of weekly jobless claims on Thursday, which showed applications for unemployment benefits were near a 15-year low, helped drive gold lower.
Gold remains under pressure with resistance falling toward $1,090 (an ounce) and the price dropping toward $1,084 (an ounce), said Colin Cieszynski, chief market analyst at CMC markets in a Thursday research note. However, Cieszynski said that on a technical basis, gold remains oversold, though he warned it could still test the $1,070-an-ounce level.
A bevy of U.S. central bank speakers, including Fed Chairman Janet Yellen, are on deck today and could provide further clues about the timing and pace of monetary policy.
Meanwhile, silver was drawing some bids after closing lower Thursday, December silver was 4 cents, or 0.3% higher at $14.30 an ounce.
Elsewhere, base metals like copper were under serious pressure, with the orange industrial metal hovering around six-year lows. December high-grade copper was 6.2 cents lower, or 2.3%, flirting with its lowest settlement since July, 8, 2009, according to FactSet data.
In other metals, January platinum lost $7.10 or 0.8 % to trade at $876 an ounce, while December palladium shed $11 or 1.9%, to trade at $566 an ounce.
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-prices-tilt-lower-as-dollar-strengthens-2015-11-12
