Gold futures finished slightly higher Tuesday a day after coming under pressure following a round of upbeat data on manufacturing activity out of China and the U.S. that sparked a rally in stocks and other assets perceived as risky and robbed haven assets of their appeal.
Gold for June delivery GCM9, +0.08% on Comex picked up $1.20, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,295.40 an ounce, while May silver SIK9, +0.13% gave up 3.8 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $15.061 an ounce.
Stocks benchmarks came under selling pressure after major indexes logged sharp gains following purchasing managers index readings out of China that showed manufacturing activity stabilizing and a stronger-than-expected reading in the Institute for Supply Managements’s U.S. manufacturing index.
On Tuesday, a reading of orders for long-lasting goods fell in February for the first time in four months and business investment continued to soften, reflecting a slower U.S. economy early in the new year.
Durable-goods orders sank 1.6%, compared with consensus economists estimates polled by MarketWatch for a decline of 2.1%, largely because of fewer bookings for commercial aircraft and defense-related hardware, the Commerce Department said.
“While gold has the potential to sink further in the near term, the medium to longer term outlook remains in favor of bulls,” said Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, in a note.
“Geopolitical risks in the form of Brexit, uncertainty over U.S.-China trade talks and a dovish Federal Reserve are likely to continue supporting gold,” he said.
Otunuga said gold is likely to test support near $1,280 in the near term, while a break back above the $1,300 level is needed to persuade bulls to “jump back into the game.”
In other metals trade, June palladium PAM9, +0.09% advanced $8.50, or 0.6%, to end at $1,400.30 an ounce, while July platinum PLN9, +0.39% edged $2.80 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $852.50 an ounce.
May copper HGK9, +0.07% was off 1.90 cents, or 0.6%, to finish at $2.9055 a pound.
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