Gold Dips on Positive Jobless Claims Report

Gold lost ground on Thursday, losing close to 1% of its value against the US dollar. On Friday, the metal’s spot price stands at $1231.80 per ounce in the European session. Although Unemployment Claims rose to 284,000, the four-week average was down sharply. This improvement helped push gold lower against the dollar. On Friday, the sole release on the schedule is New Home Sales. The markets are expecting the indicator to soften this month, with an estimate of 473 thousand.

US Unemployment Claims rose to 284 thousand last week, much higher than the previous reading of 264 thousand. However, the markets were not too concerned, as the four-week average, which is less volatile than the weekly release, dipped to 281,000, a 14-year low. Meanwhile, weak inflation levels continue to point to slack in the economy. On Wednesday, this trend continued with soft consumer inflation numbers. CPI rose to +0.1%, an improvement from the previous reading of -0.2%. The estimate stood at 0.0%, so the markets clearly did not have high expectations. It was a similar story from Core CPI, which also posted a 0.1% gain, up from 0.0% a month earlier. This was shy of the forecast of 0.2% but still within expectations.

On Friday, we’ll get a look at New Home Sales. The indicator shined last month, jumping to 504 thousand, up from 412 thousand in the previous reading. The markets are expecting a downturn in the upcoming release, with an estimate of just 473 thousand. Will the indicator beat this estimate? Earlier in the week, Existing Home Sales sparkled at 5.29 million, its best showing in a year.

XAU/USD 1231.80 H: 1234.18 L: 1229.01