Angel Tarragon
Dawn Dragon
NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures slipped on Friday to end below a fresh three-month high, pressured by profit taking after a recent rally, traders and analysts said.
Benchmark August delivery gold <GCQ5> fell $1.20 to close at $442 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. The session range ran from $445.40 -- the highest for an active contract since March 17 -- and a low at $440.
End-of-week book-squaring capped a near $3 rise on the week as the investment fund buying seen in previous days dried up and prices consolidated at higher levels.
Bernard Hunter, a director of precious metals at ScotiaMocatta in Toronto, said that with funds bullish on gold backing away from trading today, a lack of support from the retail sector and the trade led gold prices down slightly.
"It does seem to be a fund-driven market, and like today when you get a weaker period it's going to have an impact -- people are going to take profits and square positions."
In dollar terms, gold futures are up almost 6 percent so far this month and around 2.8 percent since the start of 2005.
Analysts said the rally has been fueled by investment funds piling more money into commodities, partly as a diversification away from currencies into hard assets.
Gold traders also have been less focused on currency moves and the market's inverse link with the dollar, and gold has been mostly steady even while the euro has dropped to near 10-month lows.
Normally, a firmer U.S. currency makes dollar-priced gold less attractive to investors.
"Gold feels as if it wants to go higher over the coming sessions, with likely targets being $445 and $448," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in a daily report.
In bullion, some players were eyeing a move to the 2005 high at $446.70 hit on March 11. A pop above there could spark a rally to $450, they said.
Spot gold <XAU=> last was worth $440.20/0.90 an ounce, just below Thursday's New York close at $440.85/1.60. Friday's London afternoon fix was at $440.55.
The euro edged up after briefly falling below the psychological and options-related $1.20 support level. It last was at $1.2089.
Orders for durable goods in May jumped a surprisingly strong 5.5 percent on a large gain in civilian aircraft orders. But excluding the volatile transportation category, orders slipped unexpectedly by 0.2 percent.
July silver futures <SIN5> climbed 0.7 cent to $7.28 an ounce, after dealing from $7.23 to $7.34. July-into-September contract rollover was going ahead modestly.
Spot silver <XAG=> changed hands at $7.25/28, up from $7.23/26 previously. The London fix was at $7.285.
July platinum <PLN5> rose $4 to $896 an ounce. Spot platinum <XPT=> fetched $892/896.
September palladium <PAU5> lost $1 to close at $188.80 an ounce. Spot <XPD=> hit $187/190.
Benchmark August delivery gold <GCQ5> fell $1.20 to close at $442 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. The session range ran from $445.40 -- the highest for an active contract since March 17 -- and a low at $440.
End-of-week book-squaring capped a near $3 rise on the week as the investment fund buying seen in previous days dried up and prices consolidated at higher levels.
Bernard Hunter, a director of precious metals at ScotiaMocatta in Toronto, said that with funds bullish on gold backing away from trading today, a lack of support from the retail sector and the trade led gold prices down slightly.
"It does seem to be a fund-driven market, and like today when you get a weaker period it's going to have an impact -- people are going to take profits and square positions."
In dollar terms, gold futures are up almost 6 percent so far this month and around 2.8 percent since the start of 2005.
Analysts said the rally has been fueled by investment funds piling more money into commodities, partly as a diversification away from currencies into hard assets.
Gold traders also have been less focused on currency moves and the market's inverse link with the dollar, and gold has been mostly steady even while the euro has dropped to near 10-month lows.
Normally, a firmer U.S. currency makes dollar-priced gold less attractive to investors.
"Gold feels as if it wants to go higher over the coming sessions, with likely targets being $445 and $448," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in a daily report.
In bullion, some players were eyeing a move to the 2005 high at $446.70 hit on March 11. A pop above there could spark a rally to $450, they said.
Spot gold <XAU=> last was worth $440.20/0.90 an ounce, just below Thursday's New York close at $440.85/1.60. Friday's London afternoon fix was at $440.55.
The euro edged up after briefly falling below the psychological and options-related $1.20 support level. It last was at $1.2089.
Orders for durable goods in May jumped a surprisingly strong 5.5 percent on a large gain in civilian aircraft orders. But excluding the volatile transportation category, orders slipped unexpectedly by 0.2 percent.
July silver futures <SIN5> climbed 0.7 cent to $7.28 an ounce, after dealing from $7.23 to $7.34. July-into-September contract rollover was going ahead modestly.
Spot silver <XAG=> changed hands at $7.25/28, up from $7.23/26 previously. The London fix was at $7.285.
July platinum <PLN5> rose $4 to $896 an ounce. Spot platinum <XPT=> fetched $892/896.
September palladium <PAU5> lost $1 to close at $188.80 an ounce. Spot <XPD=> hit $187/190.
