By Debarati Roy & Whitney McFerron - Sep 12, 2013 5:53 PM GMT+0400
Gold futures tumbled the most in nine weeks after a report showed U.S. jobless claims last week fell to the lowest since April 2006, boosting speculation that the Federal Reserve will scale back fiscal stimulus soon.
First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell by 31,000 to 292,000 in the week ended Sept. 7, government data showed. Analysts forecast 330,000. Through yesterday, gold dropped 19 percent this year as an equity rally and low inflation eroded demand for the metal as a store of value. A Bloomberg survey on Sept. 6 showed that the Fed will reduce bond purchases by $10 billion this month.
Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Abhay Deshpande, a portfolio manager at First Eagle Investment Management, talks about investment strategy and the growth outlook for Microsoft Corp. Deshpande speaks with Betty Liu, Alix Steel and Scarlet Fu on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)
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“Today’s data is another nail on the coffin, and people expect the announcement on tapering to come next week,” Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “People are getting bearish about gold.”
Gold futures for December delivery fell 2.6 percent to $1,327.80 an ounce at 9:44 a.m. on the Comex in New York. A close at that price would mark the biggest drop for a most-active contract since July 5.
Earlier, the metal touched $1,325.60, the lowest since Aug. 15. Trading was 26 percent above the average in the past 100 days at this time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Syria Weapons
Last month, gold gained 6.3 percent on escalating Syrian tensions. The U.S. and Russia meet today to discuss a plan for the Middle Eastern nation to surrender its chemical weapons, potentially averting a military strike from the U.S.
Silver futures for December delivery fell 4.1 percent to $22.215 an ounce on the Comex. Earlier, the price touched $22.06, the lowest since Aug. 15. Through yesterday, the metal slumped 23 percent this year.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for October delivery dropped 1.8 percent to $1,446.30 an ounce. The price fell for the fourth straight day, the longest slump since mid-March. Trading was 49 percent above the average in the past 100 days, according to Bloomberg data.
To contact the reporters on this story: Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net; Whitney McFerron in London at wmcferron1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net