By Pablo Sinha
Jan 16 (Reuters) – Gold prices extended losses from the previous session on Friday, as stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data and easing geopolitical tensions in Iran hampered bullion’s bullish momentum.
Spot gold eased 0.1% to $4,610.86 per ounce by 1217 GMT.
However, the metal is poised for a weekly gain of about 2% after scaling a record peak of $4,642.72 on Wednesday.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery edged 0.2% lower to $4,615.
“There was a lot of momentum in the (gold) market, which seems to have faded slightly at the moment….the economic news flow out of the U.S.
has been causing some headwinds rather than tailwinds as of late, which is reflected in a somewhat stronger U.S. dollar,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.
The U.S. dollar hovered near a six-week high on the back of positive economic data on Thursday showing initial jobless claims dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 198,000 last week, below economists’ forecast of 215,000.
A firmer dollar makes greenback-priced bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.
On the geopolitical front, people inside Iran, reached by Reuters on Wednesday and Thursday, said protests appeared to have abated since Monday.
Safe-haven gold tends to do well during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, gold demand in India stayed muted this week as prices hit record highs again, taking the shine off retail buying, while bullion traded at a premium in China as demand remained steady ahead of the Lunar New Year.
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Spot silver shed 1.6% to $90.82 per ounce, although it was headed for a weekly gain of over 13% after hitting an all-time high of $93.57 in the previous session.
“The silver market seemed very determined to reach the $100 per ounce threshold before moving lower again….speculative traders are keeping an eye on that level even though it would not be sustainable in the medium to longer-term,” Menke added.
Spot platinum dropped 3.2% to $2,332.70 per ounce, and was set to gain more than 2.7% for the week so far.
Palladium lost 2.6% to $1,754.35 per ounce, after hitting a more than one-week low earlier, and was headed for a weekly loss of 3.5%.
(Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
