Sydney: Gold on Friday traded at the bottom end of levels plumbed in the last US session, where a stronger dollar hammered bullion to its lowest in more than a month.
The dollar has since lost some of its clout against other currencies, though gold was finding few investors willing to buck bullion's downtrend, dealers said.
"It's really wait and see where the dollar takes us," a dealer said.
The precious metal has lost about 15 per cent of its value since mid May.
As a result, gold had been left dangling close to the key technical support mark of $620.00 an ounce, which if breached, could trigger widespread stop-loss orders.
Spot gold was quoted at $623.50/$624.25 an ounce by 0308 GMT versus $626.00 at the Sydney open.
Overnight, gold fell to $620.90 an ounce, the lowest since April 25, before moving to $626.30/627.10 late in New York, against $644.40/645.20 on Wednesday, when it slipped about two per cent.
The metal has fallen more than $100, or 15 per cent, since hitting a 26-year high of $730 about three weeks ago.
The all-time high was $850 in January 1980.
Softer oil prices - discounting prospects of higher inflation - were also weighing against gold, dealers said.
Dealers said the US dollar was holding the most sway in bullion markets, suggesting the currency's retracement could curb gold's price descent.
Data showing a cooling in the growth of US factory activity was putting pressure on the dollar, though this was being countered by growing prospects that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this month, they said.
Spot silver dropped 20 cents from the late New York quote to $11.83/$11.93 an ounce.
Spot platinum was down $8 at $1,211/$1,219 an ounce.
Spot palladium was down $3.50 at $331.50/$338.50 an ounce.
Comments
0 comment