WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices dropped on Thursday as U.S. dollar climbed higher and bond yields rose, after President Donald Trump threatened to slap 25% tariff on imports from the European Union.
Trump also indicated that the effective date of the levies on imports from Mexico and Canada could be pushed back from March 4th to April 2nd, the same day he purportedly plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on other U.S. trade partners.
The dollar index surged to 107.28, gaining about 0.8%.
Gold futures for March closed down $34.60 or about 1.2% at $2,883.20 an ounce.
Silver futures for March settled at $31.801 an ounce, losing $0.471 or 1.46%, while Copper futures for March climbed to $4.5750 per pound, gaining $0.0350 or 0.77%.
In economic news, data from the Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 242,000 in the week ended February 22nd, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to inch up to 221,000 from the 219,000 originally reported for the previous month.
A report from the Commerce Department said durable goods orders shot up by 3.1% in January after tumbling by a revised 1.8% in December. Economists had expected durable goods orders to jump by 2% compared to the 2.2% slump that had been reported for the previous month.
A separate data from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy grew in line with its preliminary estimate in the fourth quarter of 2024, jumping by 2.3%, unchanged from the previous estimate. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to be unrevised.
The fourth quarter GDP growth reflects a notable slowdown compared to the 3.1% surge seen in the third quarter of 2024.
A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed pending home sales in the U.S. dropped 4.6% to an all-time low of 70.6 in January after tumbling 4.1% to a revised 74.0 in December. Economists had expected pending home sales to slump by 1.3% compared to the 5.5% nosedive originally reported for the previous month.
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