Gold futures settled lower on Monday, extending losses to a second straight session, despite the dollar’s weakness.
Worries about the coronavirus pandemic after reports showed spikes in new virus cases in several states in America and parts of Asia and Europe and the resultant concerns about global growth prompted traders to take some profits in the commodity.
The dollar index dropped to 96.60, losing more than 0.7% from the previous close. It was last seen moving around 96.70.
Gold futures for August ended down $10.10 or about 0.6% at $1,727.20 an ounce, well off the day’s low of 1,706.20 an ounce.
On Friday, gold futures for August shed about 0.1%. Gold futures gained about 2.6% last week, the best weekly returns since the second week of April.
Silver futures for July closed lower by $0.083 at $17.399 an ounce, while copper futures for July settled at $2.5670 per pound, down $0.0330 from the previous close.
According to reports, Over 25,000 new U.S. coronavirus cases were reported on Saturday alone as more states reported record new infections and hospitalizations.
Beijing recorded a spate of new covid-19 cases in a major wholesale food market, raising worries about a second wave of coronavirus infections.
Tokyo reported 47 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the highest since May 5, as the capital eases restrictions and readies to fully reopen the economy.
Disappointing industrial production and retail sales data from China raised concerns about global growth. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Chinese industrial production grew 4.4% on a yearly basis in May, faster than the 3.9% increase logged in April. Economists had forecast a 5% rise.
Retail sales dropped at a slower pace of 2.8% in May, compared to the same month last year. The drop was slower than the 7.5% decrease seen in April.
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