Gold Price News: Gold Gives Up Gains After Near One-Month High

Gold prices edged lower on Thursday, giving up some of Wednesday’s hefty gains as prices hit resistance.

The day started off apparently in a bullish mood, with the market looking like launching another attempt at the recent highs of over $2,400 an ounce. Gold briefly rose as high as $2,398 an ounce, but appeared to encounter resistance, and selling pressure emerged which pushed prices back down as low as $2,372 an ounce by mid-afternoon.

By late Thursday afternoon, prices were up off the earlier lows at around $2,380 an ounce, moderately lower compared with around $2,389 an ounce in late trades on Wednesday.

Thursday’s early price jump to almost a one-month high may have attracted some profit-taking, triggering a price reversal within the day’s trading.

US weekly initial jobless claims figures released on Thursday came in broadly in line with the market’s expectations, while the US dollar strengthened slightly against other major currencies, which created a headwind for dollar-denominated gold prices.

In addition, 10-year US treasury yields were also higher on Thursday, rebounding from a one-month low seen on Wednesday, in a further bearish element for gold prices, which can lose some of their appeal when other assets are yielding a higher return.

Going forward, Friday is looking fairly light on data releases, although eyes will be on the Euro Area inflation rate for April due for release in the morning.

Beyond that, the markets will be watching out for planned speeches by several US Fed officials on Monday for any clues on the timing of any monetary policy changes in the coming months.