Investing.com -- Gold prices edged lower in narrow ranges on Wednesday, with upbeat U.S. economic data ensuring that the drift stayed negative as markets wound down ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
Third-quarter economic growth was revised up to an annualized 2.1% from a first reading of 1.9%, although the healthier headline number was down largely to a faster build in inventories, rather than final demand.
Core durable goods orders also rebounded strongly from a 0.4% drop in September and initial jobless claims fell back to historic lows after two bigger-than-expected increases in previous weeks.
Elsewhere, risk assets remained supported by President Donald Trump’s comments on Tuesday that China and the U.S. are in the “final throes” of negotiations on a phase one deal that may take some of the heat out of their trade war.
Accordingly, gold futures for delivery on the Comex exchange slid below $1,460 briefly before rebounding to trade at $1,461.35 a troy ounce by 11 AM ET (1600 GMT), down 0.4% on the day. Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,454.43.
“Gold is continuing the theme of lower highs and lower lows within a downward-trending channel since early September,” warned Andrew Robinson, a senior analyst with OANDA.
Silver futures fell 0.7% to $17.08, while platinum futures were the biggest loser, falling 2.0% to $893.30 an ounce. Platinum has struggled since last week when the World Platinum Investment Council released a report warning that weaker industrial demand and ebbing investment flows could lead to a 10% drop in overall demand.
By contrast, the support for risk assets lifted copper futures to $2.70 a pound for the first time in two weeks.