Gold falters on dollar strength

           Gold futures fell in the early part of Friday’s Asian session as traders digested some strong data out of the U.S. while embracing the U.S. dollar. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery fell 0.90% to USD1,455.35 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday after down 0.33% at USD1,468.85 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday. 

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,440.55 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at USD1,475.55, Wednesday's high. 

In U.S. economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 18,000 last week to a five-year low of 324,000. Analysts expected a reading of 345,000 claims. 

Separately, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $38.8 billion in the first quarter. 

The buoyant jobless claims number comes on the heels of last Friday’s stronger-than-expected April jobs report out of the world’s largest economy. With the U.S. labor market apparently improving, traders speculated that the Federal Reserve may begin winding down its quantitative easing program. 

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. economy added 165,000 nonfarm payrolls in April, up from 138,000 in March, whose figure was revised up from 88,000. April's figures far outpaced analysts' forecasts for a 145,000 figure. 

The Fed has pledged to keep interest rates low until the unemployment drops another 1%. 

Analysts are also pointing to increased physical demand out of Hong Kong and China as catalysts that could be supportive of gold in the coming months. 

Elsewhere, Comex silver for July delivery dropped 1.23% to USD23.618 while copper for July delivery fell 0.14% to USD3.328. - investing.com