Gold off the highs after Draghi comments, strong U.S. jobs data

Gold futures came off the highest levels of the session during U.S. morning trade on Thursday, after comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and following strong U.S. jobs data, which dampened expectations for near-term easing by the Federal Reserve. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,700.95 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, adding 0.55%. Prices rose by as much as 1.25% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD1,713.35 a troy ounce, the strongest level since March 12. Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,646.45 a troy ounce, the low from August 31 and near-term resistance at USD1,725.15, the high from March 2. Gold prices came off the highs after ECB President Draghi said the bank would launch an "outright monetary transaction" plan and said the region's rescue funds should be ready to act in bond markets. The comments came after the central bank left its key lending rate unchanged at a trecord-low of 0.75%. Prices came under additional pressure after payroll processing firm ADP said U.S. non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 201,000 in August, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 140,000. The previous month’s figure was revised up to a gain of 173,000 from a previously reported increase of 163,000. A separate report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by a more-than-expected 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 7,000 to 370,000. Gold traders now looked ahead to Friday’s crucial report on non-farm payrolls, which will allow investors to further gauge the strength of the labor market and the need for additional easing by the Federal Reserve. Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would pump more money into the financial system. Gold gained as much as 15% earlier this year to hit USD1,790 an ounce after the Fed said in January it would keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014 and indicated that it could introduce a fresh round of asset-purchases. However, prices have lost almost 5% since late February, as the Fed failed to deliver more easing and amid concerns over the euro zone’s deepening debt crisis, which has fueled demand for the precious metal's hedge, the greenback. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery jumped 1.1% to trade at USD32.67 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery fell 0.65% to trade at USD3.506 a pound.

Courtesy: ForexPros