Gold prices ease in Asia on profit taking from overnight gains

                   Gold prices eased in Asia on Friday, retracing overnight gains made on concerns about southern European banks.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Goldfutures for August delivery traded at $1,337.40 a troy ounce, down 0.13%, after hitting an overnight session low of $1,325.40 and off a high of $1,346.10.

The parent company of Portugal's largest bank, Banco Espírito Santo, said it missed payments on commercial paper to a few clients, which spooked markets by fueling concerns surrounding the soundness of the banking sectors in Portugal as well as in Spain and Italy.

Gold rose on safe-haven demand while, weak euro zone factory data further bolstered the precious metal's appeal.

Italy's industrial output unexpectedly fell 1.2% in May from April, defying expectations for a 0.2% expansion, while French industrial production plunged 1.7% in May, also confounding expectations for a 0.2% gain.

Meanwhile in the U.S., solid jobless claims numbers supported the greenback, which tends to trade inversely with the yellow metal, the European concerns offset the data due to Fed expectations

The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 5 declined by 11,000 to 304,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to hold steady at 315,000 last week.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its June policy meeting in which monetary authorities forecast bond purchases should conclude in October.

Silver for September delivery fell 0.07% at $21.493 a troy ounce. Copperfutures for September delivery rose 0.09% at $3.273 a pound. - investing.com

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NYMEX crude eases in Asia on profit taking after U.S. gains

                           Crude oil prices fell in Asia on Friday on profit taking after mild gains in the U.S. session.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in August traded at $102.76 barrel, down 0.17%,after hitting an overnight session low of $101.55 a barrel and a high of $103.00 a barrel.

Brent oil for August delivery on the ICE Futures Europe exchange gained 0.4% to $108.67 a barrel on Thursday, snapping an eight-day losing streak. It was the largest one-day dollar and percentage gain in three weeks.

Fears that military conflicts in the Middle East will disrupt supplies haven waned in recent sessions, softening oil prices to levels ripe for bottom fishing on Thursday.

Libya recently struck a deal with rebels occupying oil ports under terms that would have insurgents give up control over terminals that have been closed for a year.

The deal should add 500,000 barrels per day of crude back into the global energy market, while expectations for the Iraqi insurgency to remain to the north of the country's oilfields also allowed prices to fall prior to Thursday's buying spree.

Upbeat U.S. jobless claims numbers supported oil as well.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 5 declined by 11,000 to 304,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to hold steady at 315,000 last week. - investing.com

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Natural gas hit 6-month lows on U.S. inventory report

                       Natural gas futures fell to six-month lows on Thursday after official data revealed U.S. stockpiles rose more than expected last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in August traded at $4.118 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, down 1.26%. The commodity hit a session high of $4.189 and a low of $4.117.

The August contract settled down 0.81% on Wednesday to end at $4.170 per million British thermal units.

Natural gas futures were likely to find support at $3.953 per million British thermal units, the low from Jan. 10, and resistance at $4.356, Monday's high.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ending July 4 rose by 93 billion cubic feet, above expectations for an increase of 92 billion cubic feet.

The five-year average change for the week is an increase of 72 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.022 trillion cubic feet. Stocks were 653 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 769 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 2.791 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.

Meanwhile, updated weather-forecasting models called for cooler temperatures stick around parts of the heavily-populated Midwest and Northeast regions over the next five days.

Below-normal temperatures send natural gas prices falling this time of year by fueling expectations for households to throttle back on their air conditioning.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in August were up 0.61% at $102.92 a barrel, while heating oil for August delivery were up 0.98% at $2.8994 per gallon. investing.com

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