Gold retreated in Thursday trading after two economic reports painted a somewhat improved picture of the U.S. economy.
The Labor Department reported that first-time claims for unemployment benefits declined by 12,000 last week, and the Commerce Department said that retail sales climbed 0.6% in May, topping economists’ forecast of a 0.4% gain. The news sent equities markets higher, though the U.S. dollar continued to stall against the yen.
Gold futures for July delivery dropped 1% to $1,377.90 per ounce on Thursday, according to . Gold traded as high as $1,393.60 and as low as $1,373.50. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,387, according to BullionVault.
Silver futures for July delivery also sank 1% to $21.58 per ounce. Thursday’s high for silver was $21.91 while the low was $21.50.
Gold and silver funds were mostly lower in Thursday trading.
- The SPDR Gold Trust () dipped 0.4%.
- The iShares Gold Trust () also slid 04%.
- The iShares Silver Trust () edged up 0.1%.
Gold and silver mining ETFs advanced during the day.
- The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF () climbed 1%.
- The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF () gained 0.4%.
- The Global X Silver Miners ETF () jumped 1.8%.
Gold mining shares mostly improved on Thursday.
- Agnico-Eagle Mines () rose 0.7%.
- Barrick Gold () inched up 0.2%.
- Eldorado Gold () gained 1.1%.
- Goldcorp () increased 1.6%.
- Kinross Gold () jumped 2.2%.
- Newmont Mining () added 1%.
- NovaGold Resources () surged 4.7%.
- Yamana Gold () climbed 1.1%.
Silver mining shares moved higher during the day.
- Coeur d’Alene Mines () rose 1.7%.
- Hecla Mining () increased 0.9%.
- Pan American Silver () gained 1.6%.
- Silver Wheaton () edged up 0.2%.
- Silver Standard Resources () surged 3.2%.
As of this writing, Christopher Freeburn did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of contributed to this report.
