Precious metals sank today as a bunch of economic reports was released from the United States, most of which were surprisingly good. Unemployment claims unexpectedly dropped from 321,000 to 297,000 last week. The New York Empire States Manufacturing Index jumped from 1.3 in April to 19.0 in May, exceeding analysts’ expectations by a wide margin. There were bad reports as well but they did not spoil the positive picture too much, meaning that demand for precious metals as a safe haven waned.
There were speculations that growing US consumer prices might spur demand for gold and other metals as a protection against inflation, yet it looks like this is not the case for now. The Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3 percent in April, faster than March’s 0.2 percent growth. It is true that inflation is accelerating, but so far it is not big enough to make investors concerned and increase their need for precious metals.
June futures for delivery of gold slid $11.90 (0.91 percent) to $1,294.00 per troy ounce as of 18:17 GMT on COMEX today. July contract for silver lost $0.31 (1.57 percent) to $19.47 per ounce. Spot price for platinum dropped $12.53 (0.85 percent) to $1,469.10 per ounce, and price for palladium tumbled $14.94 (1.81 percent) to $812.75 per ounce.
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