Gold steadies in Asian trade

Gold steadied in Asian trade Thursday after a strong outlook for US economy continued to dampen it's safe haven appeal.

Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1586.38 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore time while US gold was seen at $1585.57 an ounce on the comex division of nymex.

Analysts said the precious yellow metal is likely to drop further during the day as the dollar hovered near seven-month highs against a basket of currencies.

On Wednesday, gold futures settled with a modest loss after a failed attempt to breach $1,600 an ounce, pressured by the dollar’s climb to a seven-month high after data showed a surge in February U.S. retail sales.

Gold for April delivery fell $3.30, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,588.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had climbed to as high as $1,598.80 during the session.

Silver’s move was more pronounced, as is usually the case given the market’s smaller trading volume. May silver closed down 21 cents, or 0.7%, at $28.96 an ounce after a 1.1% rise on Tuesday. - BullionsTreet