Gold prices retreated from the previous session’s three-month high on Thursday, as investors looked ahead to key U.S. economic data later in the day for further indications on the strength of the economy and the future course of monetary policy.
Gold drops from 3-month high ahead of U.S. retail sales report
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery held in a range between USD1,287.60 a troy ounce and USD1,293.20 an ounce.
Gold prices last traded at USD1,287.70 an ounce during European morning hours, down 0.55%.
Gold futures rallied to USD1,296.40 an ounce on Wednesday, the most since November 8, before trimming gains to settle at USD1,295.00, up 0.4%.
Prices were likely to find support at USD1,264.70 a troy ounce, the low from February 10 and resistance at USD1,313.30, the high from November 8.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery fell 0.9% to trade at USD20.15 a troy ounce. The March contract settled 0.93% higher on Wednesday to end at USD20.34 an ounce.
The U.S. is to produce data on retail sales for January, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims later in the session.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is to testify on the bank’s semiannual monetary policy report before the House Financial Services Committee, in Washington.
In her first congressional testimony on Tuesday, Fed Chair Yellen said that the central bank would taper the pace of its asset purchases at future meetings if the economy continued to improve as expected.
She added that the pace of the central bank’s bond purchases are not on a “preset course”, while reiterating that Fed plans to hold interest rates at zero “well past” the time the jobless rate falls below 6.5%.
The testimony is coming amid fresh concerns over the outlook for the recovery, following the weakest two-month stretch of U.S. job creation in three years in December and January.
The Fed tapered its monthly asset purchase program by another USD10 billion to USD65 billion a month at its last policy meeting.
Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery dipped 0.2% to trade at USD3.249 a pound.
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