October 16, 2009
Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed much lower on Thursday as investors took profits after the precious metal failed to set another new record high. Silver and platinum both ended lower.
The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 14.10 U.S. dollars, or 1.3 percent, to finish at 1,050.60 U.S. dollars an ounce.
During the overnight session, it touched as high as 1066.80, below Wednesday's all-time high of 1072. This is considered as the sign that the recent two-week rally has exhausted. Investors who have earned enough opted to sell off the yellow metal to take profits. Gold has soared as much as almost 80 dollars since September 29.
On the economy front, bullish data, which signal a solid recovery, also limited gold's appeal of hedge and safe-haven.
New jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since January. The Labor Department said first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 514,000 from an upwardly revised 524,000 the previous week.
At the same time, the pace of U.S. consumer price increases slowed last month. In another report, the Labor Department said consumer price index for September is pegged at 0.2 percent, followed a 0.4 percent increase in August. This eased investors' inflation concerns.
December silver was down 49.3 cents to 17.415 dollars per ounce. January platinum declined 11.10 dollars to 1355.50 dollars an ounce.