Gold declines on rising risk appetite

        
               Gold futures are trading lower during Friday’s following the release of some more positive economic data points, which fueled another strong day for stocks there.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery fell 0.13% to USD1,588.70 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday after settling up 0.16% at USD1,590.90 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday.

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,574.60 a troy ounce, Monday's low, and resistance at USD1,598.00, Wednesday's high.

In U.S. economic news, initial claims for jobless benefits fell last week by 10,000 to 332,000 claims. Analysts expected an increase to 350,000 claims. The less volatile four-week moving average fell by 2,750 to 346,750.

The Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted producer price index rose 0.7% in February following a 0.2% increase in January. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, inline with economists’ expectations.

Recent strength in the U.S. labor market has sent investors to equities over safe-have plays such as gold. Concerning some traders is the fact that gold has failed on several recent attempts to crack psychological resistance at USD1,600 per ounce.

U.S. consumer inflation data due out later today and next week’s Federal Reserve meeting could be the next catalysts to provide increased action for gold, which has been noticeably lethargic in recent days.

The good news for gold bugs is that many market participants expect the Fed’s USD85 billion per month asset-buying program to stay in place until next year.

Elsewhere, Comex silver for May delivery fell 0.11% to USD28.775 per ounce while copper for May delivery inched up by 0.01% to USD3.536 per ounce.  - Investing.com