Forexpros – Gold futures extended losses in U.S. morning trade on Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened against its major counterparts, following the release of better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,661.85 a troy ounce during early U.S. morning trade, shedding 0.16%.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,643.15 a troy ounce, the low of April 26 and resistance at USD1,668.65, the session high, and the pair’s highest since April 13.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing activity rose to 54.8 from 53.4 in March, defying expectations for a decline to 53.0.
The report said new orders climbed to 58.2 from 54.5, while the employment index also rose to 57.3 from 56.1.
The data eased concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economic recovery after Monday’s weaker-than-expected Midwest manufacturing report and U.S. consumer spending data dented sentiment on the greenback.
Following the release of the data, the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, climbed 0.22% to trade at 79.04.
But gold remained supported after official data showed that an index of Chinese manufacturing activity rose to a 13-month high of 53.3 in April from 53.1 the previous month. The data came in slightly below forecasts for a reading of 53.6.
Elsewhere, investors remained cautious amid concerns over the outlook for the euro zone, after official data on Monday confirming that Spain’s economy entered a recession in the first quarter sparked fresh fears that austerity measures could impair economic growth in the bloc.
Market participants were also jittery ahead of weekend elections in Greece and France and the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery advanced 0.44% to trade at USD31.15 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery was up 0.43% to trade close to a three-month high at USD3.845 a pound.
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