Investing.com - Gold futures erased gains on Thursday to move away from a four-month high, after upbeat U.S. economic data prompted market players to bring forward their expectations for a U.S. rate hike.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange shed $1.20, or 0.1%, to trade at $1,178.60 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours. Prices rallied to an intraday peak of $1,191.40 earlier, a level not seen since June 22.
Gold briefly turned lower after the U.S. Department of Labor said that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits fell by 7,000 last week to 255,000, matching the lowest level in 42 years. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 8,000 to 270,000.
At the same time, the U.S. Commerce Department said that consumer prices fell 0.2% last month, matching forecasts and following a fall of 0.1% in August. Year-over-year, consumer prices were flat in September, compared to expectations for a 0.1% slip.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, increased 0.2%, above expectations for a gain of 0.1%. Core CPI increased at annualized rate of 1.9% last month, up from 1.8% in August.
Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories. The central bank usually tries to aim for 2% core inflation or less.
Separately, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index improved to -11.4 this month from a reading of -14.7 in September. Analysts had expected the index to rise to -8.0 in October.
The mostly upbeat data eased concerns over the health of the economy and prompted market players to bring forward their expectations for a U.S. rate hike.
The timing of a Fed rate hike has been a constant source of debate in the markets in recent months.
The dollar turned broadly higher against the other major currencies in wake of the data, bouncing off a two-and-a-half month trough.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, climbed 0.63% to 94.55, after hitting the lowest level since August 26 earlier in the day.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 0.2 cents, or 0.08%, to hit $2.418 a pound during morning hours in New York.
Copper rose amid speculation policymakers in China will have to introduce further stimulus measures to boost growth after a recent batch of weak economic data added to concerns over the health of the world's second largest economy.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.