Precious metals fall as US economy looks promising
US retail sales data for May beat expectations today while new applications for unemployment benefits fell for last week, driving equities and reducing the value of precious metals and various other commodities as investors looked to riskier assets with higher yields. Unemployment applications fell by 2,000 for last week and retail sales increased by 0.6 percent, beating analysts expectations of a 0.4 percent increase.
Gold and silver both slid by 1 percent during US trading, adding to the declines that the precious metals have seen throughout the year as stocks have risen across the globe. Most indices have registered double digit growth since the turn of the year, reducing demand for the safer assets. The result of that switch of emphasis from investors is an 18 percent decline for gold
Gold futures for delivery in August fell by more than $14 during afternoon trading in New York, reaching $1,377.82 per ounce. Silver fell 21¢ to $21.58 per ounce.
Commodity traders searching for profits did have one obvious trade to make in West Texas Intermediate crude. WTI crude rose to a three week high on the back of the US retail data as concerns for future demand eased. Futures for the American black gold rose by 0.8 percent, with WTI for July delivery reaching $96.69 after an 81 cent advance.
The US consumed more than 8.5 million barrels of petroleum per day on average, with 8.8 million being used daily (on average) over the last four weeks.
