Gold modestly lower on profit-taking

                         Gold futures are trading slightly lower during Friday’s Asian after the yellow metal notched a decent gain during Thursday’s U.S. session. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery inched lower by 0.06% to USD1,391.65 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday after settling up 0.46% at USD1,389.05 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday. 

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,322.25 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at USD1,494.95, Monday's high. 

Some mixed U.S. economic data out Thursday helped lift gold a bit. In U.S. economic news, initial claims for jobless benefits rose to 352,000 last week from a revised 348,000 in the prior week. Economists expected the number to come in at 355,000. The less volatile four-week moving average rose slightly to 361,250. 

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said manufacturing activity in the region softened a bit this month with the business conditions index falling to 1.3 from 2 last month. Economists expected a rise to 4 this month. The new orders index slumped to -1 from 0.5 in March. 

Gold also got a small lift Thursday on speculation regarding increased physical demand in Asia. China and India are among the largest gold consumers in the world. The Bombay Bullion Association said Indian gold purchases are expected to rise 36% through June compared with the year-earlier period. 

Still, just days after its biggest slide in more than decades, gold poses a vexing to many traders. Sentiment is mixed going into next week as traders try to recover from the savage beating gold absorbed earlier this week. 

Elsewhere, Comex silver for May delivery fell 0.09% to USD23.225 per ounce while copper for May delivery lost 0.39% to USD3.188 per ounce.
Courtesy : investing.com