Gold futures push higher in late trade, crude oil slumps
ecPulse
2014-08-22 19:48PM UTC
Gold prices were higher in U.S. trading on Friday, rebounding from this week’s high selling pressure amid safe-haven buying, but are still down 2%for the week, the worst decline in the month. Gold for December delivery climbed $5.70 to settle at $1,281.10 an ounce. Spot gold ended higher by $4.31 at $1,279.14 an ounce. Reports of NATO’s concerns over the buildup of Russian forces near Ukraine propped up gold prices. Some reports said a Russian convoy had crossed the border into Ukraine, and the Ukraine military engaged the convoy and destroyed part of it. However, the Russian military denied any encounter ever occurred. Gold futures on Thursday hit their lowest settlement since June 18, as a weekly drop in claims for U.S. unemployment benefits spurred concerns the Federal Reserve will consider the economy ready to handle an interest-rate increase in the near future. Gold futures have declined in the previous five sessions, in part as a hawkish tone at the Fed’s meeting in late July resulted in dollar strengthening. A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated assets such as gold more expensive for holders of other assets. As well, tighter monetary policy tends to be negative for gold, which has benefited in recent years from unconventional monetary policy measures by major central banks. Crude Oil U.S. Crude oil prices fell on Friday, on track for a fifth straight week in losses, while Brent crude continued to decline on oversupply worries and a stronger U.S. dollar. Renewed concerns of a slowdown in China and the resumption of oil shipments from Libya weighed on crude oil, with worries centered around an oversupply situation. WTI crude for October delivery fell 0.40 cents to $93.56 a barrel. Brent for October delivery fell 0.40 cents to $102.23 a barrel. Traders and analysts said higher inventory at Cushing, Oklahoma, pushed the markets lower Friday after stocks in the delivery point for the U.S. oil contract fell to six-year lows earlier this month. Last week, crude stocks at the Cushing delivery hub rose by 1.8 million barrels to 20.2 million barrels, the first time stocks there topped 20 million in a month, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday. On Thursday, crude oil futures ended higher aided by a slew of upbeat US economic data including reports showing a bigger than expected drop in jobless claims and a more than expected jump in existing home sales. Nonetheless, the gains were limited with some weak reading on Chinese manufacturing activity in August and on reports of oil shipments have resumed from Libya`s largest terminal Es Sider.
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