Better-than-expected first time unemployment benefit claims last week sent gold down sharply in Thursday trading. Investors interpreted signs of an improving job market as a signal that the Federal Reserve could begin tapering its monthly bond buying in the short term.
Gold futures for December delivery dropped 2.4% to $1,330.60 per ounce on Thursday, according to . Gold traded as high as $1,366.20 and as low as $1,325.60. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,328, according to BullionVault.
Silver futures for December delivery plunged 4.4% to $22.15 per ounce. Thursday’s high for silver was $23.27, while the low was $22.06.
Gold and silver funds sank in Thursday trading.
- The SPDR Gold Shares () fell 3.1%.
- The iShares Gold Trust () dropped 3%.
- The iShares Silver Trust () tumbled 5.6%.
Gold and silver mining ETFs retreated during the day.
- The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF () slid 5.8%.
- The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF () plummeted 7.1%.
- The Global X Silver Miners ETF () plunged 5.2%.
Gold mining shares dropped sharply on Thursday.
- Agnico-Eagle Mines () declined 5.6%.
- Barrick Gold () decreased 5.5%.
- Eldorado Gold () plunged 7.7%.
- Goldcorp () fell 6.5%.
- Kinross Gold () sank 5.9%.
- Newmont Mining () moved down 4.2%.
- NovaGold Resources () waned 2.2%.
- Yamana Gold () slid 4.6%.
Silver mining shares pulled back during the day.
- Coeur d’Alene Mines () sank 4.5%.
- Hecla Mining () dropped 5.1%.
- Pan American Silver () fell 4.7%.
- Silver Wheaton () declined 5.2%.
- Silver Standard Resources () plunged 7.9%.
As of this writing, Christopher Freeburn did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of contributed to this report.
