Gold futures traded lower on Thursday, while the dollar strengthened and stocks extended Wednesday’s late-day revival, as concerns about a trade clash between the U.S. and China calmed.
June gold GCM8, -0.77% fell $12.20, or 0.9%, to $1,328 an ounce. May silver SIK8, +0.81% used both for industrial purposes and as a financial asset, added 2 cents, or 0.1%, at $16.270 an ounce.
The metal had settled higher Wednesday after China said it would impose tariffs of up to 25% on 106 American categories of products, elevating tensions in a simmering trade conflict between Washington and Beijing. The mounting confrontation had provided a lift for gold and other havens that tend to attract bids in times of global uncertainty.
Copper prices also improved from their Wednesday retreat on trade-tariff fears, with copper for May delivery HGK8, +2.04% up 6 cents, or 1.9%, at $3.069 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. If it holds, the daily gain would mark the industrial metal’s largest daily gain since Feb. 14, when it rose 2.3%. The contract had shed 1.7% a day earlier.
In exchange-traded funds, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF GLD, -0.59% slipped by 0.7%. The iShares Silver Trust SLV, +0.39% gained 0.1%, while the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners GDX, +0.23% fell 0.4%.
A firming of the U.S. currency dented dollar-pegged gold, as such gains can make commodities less attractive to buyers using other currencies. The U.S. unit, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.43% was up 0.4%
