Investing.com - Gold prices extended losses on Thursday, after data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell to a nine-week low, fuelling optimism over the strength of the labor market.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery slumped $6.20, or 0.51%, to trade at $1,202.00 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours. Prices held in a narrow range between $1,200.10 and $1,207.30.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,178.20, the low from March 31, and resistance at $1,220.40, the high from March 26.
Gold fell to the lowest levels of the session after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 20,000 last week to 268,000 from the previous week’s total of 288,000.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 3,000 to 285,000 last week.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened narrowed 16.9% in February to $34.44 billion, the lowest level since 2009.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.4% to 98.12 early on Thursday.
A day earlier, gold posted its biggest one-day gain in two months as weaker than expected economic data fuelled concerns over the health of the U.S. economy and dampened expectations for higher interest rates.
Payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by 189,000 last month, below expectations for an increase of 225,000 and the lowest since January 2014.
The data raised concerns ahead of Friday's key nonfarm payrolls report, which was forecast to show a gain of 245,000 jobs in March, following an increase of 295,000 in February.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery tumbled 29.6 cents, or 1.74%, to trade at $16.76 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery shed 1.8 cents, or 0.65%, to trade at $2.731 a pound.