WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled notably higher on Wednesday as the dollar shed ground and bond yields dropped after soft consumer price inflation data helped ease concerns about the outlook for Federal Reserve's interest rates.
The dollar index slipped to 104.32, down more than 0.6%. Yield on long term U.S. 10-year Treasury Note dropped to 4.351%.
Gold futures for May ended down by $35.30 or about 1.5% at $2,388.70 an ounce, gaining for a second straight session.
Silver futures for May settled higher by $1.0290 or about 3.61% at $29.514 an ounce, a new 52-week high.
Copper futures climbed to $4.9310 per pound, $0.0360 or about 0.7%.
Data from the Labor Department showed consumer prices in the U.S. rose by slightly less than expected in the month of April, increasing by 0.3%, after rising by 0.4% in March. Economists had expected consumer prices to climb by another 0.4%.
The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 3.4% in April from 3.5% in March, in line with expectations. The annual rate of core consumer price growth decelerated to 3.6% in April from 3.8% in March. The slowdown also matched estimates.
In other economic news, data released by the Commerc Department said retail sales were virtually unchanged in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.6% in March. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4% compared to the 0.7% increase originally reported for the previous month.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report showing regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in the month of May.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index edged down to a negative 15.6 in May from a negative 14.3 in April, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 10.0.
The National Association of Home Builders released a report showing an unexpected deterioration in U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of May. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index tumbled to 45 in May from 51 in April. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.
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