Gold Ends Lower As Equities Rebound

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended lower on Thursday, on some mixed economic data from the U.S. with equity markets rallying to move into positive territory.

The initial weakness on Wall Street reflected ongoing concerns over global economic growth, coupled with concerns over the spread of the Ebola outbreak in the U.S.

Earlier, gold prices hovered around the positive side tracking gains made yesterday with its safe haven appeal after global equity markets trended sharply lower on some soft economic data from U.S., Europe, and China amid some gloomy economic forecast.

In some positive economic news from the U.S., a Federal Reserve report on Thursday showed industrial production rebounded much more than expected in September. However, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area grew at a slower rate in October, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed.

Meanwhile, data from the National Association of Home Builders showed homebuilder confidence in the U.S. to have deteriorated notably in October, following four consecutive monthly increases.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $3.60 or 0.3 percent to settle at $1,241.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.

Gold for December delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,245.60 and a low of $1,235.20 an ounce.

On Wednesday, gold ended higher on some disappointing economic data from the U.S. with investors continuing to seek the safe haven appeal of the precious metal, amid an alarming drop in global stocks and a flood of gloomy economic forecast.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, edged lower to 759.14 tons on Thursday from its previous close of 761.23 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 84.84 on Thursday, down from its previous close of 84.86 late Wednesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 85.43 intraday and a low of 84.74.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.2816 on Thursday, as compared to its previous close of $1.2837 late Wednesday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.2845 intraday and a low of $1.2706.

On the economic front, a Federal Reserve report on Thursday showed industrial production in the U.S. rebounded much more than expected in September, after an unexpected drop in production in the previous month.

The Federal Reserve said industrial production in the U.S. surged by 1.0 percent in September after edging down by a revised 0.2 percent in August. Economists expected production to increase by about 0.4 percent compared to the 0.1 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

A report from the National Association of Home Builders showed homebuilder confidence in the U.S. to have deteriorated notably in October, with the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropping to 54 in October after jumping to a nearly nine-year high of 59 in September. Economists expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the previous month.

A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area grew at a slower rate in the month of October. The Philly Fed's diffusion index for current activity edged down to 20.7 in October from 22.5 in September. Economists expected the index to dip to a reading of 20.0.

Elsewhere, data from Eurostat showed eurozone inflation to have declined to 0.3 percent in September, the lowest since late 2009, raising fears of deflation.