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Gold and silver futures suffered large losses on Thursday as the rising US dollar, combined with rising Treasury bill yields, helped to weigh on precious metal prices.
A better-than-expected report on unemployment claims in the United States, which fell to their lowest level since November amid the COVID pandemic, also failed to help boost the purchase of metals.
Gold futures for delivery in April GC00,
GCJ21,
were down $ 24.60, or 1.3%, to $ 1,810.50 an ounce, putting the yellow metal on pace with its lowest settlement since late November, early December, according to FactSet data .
Silver futures for delivery in March SI00,
SIH21,
were down 34 cents, or 1.3%, to $ 26.55 an ounce, after rising 1.8% on Wednesday, following a more than 10% drop in futures on Tuesday.
Weekly unemployment claims showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits at the end of January fell for a third week in a row to a nine-week low, suggesting that the hiring is slowly picking up as a record wave of coronavirus cases recedes.
Meanwhile, commodities brokers are examining movements in bonds and currencies after the Bank of England said on Thursday it was time to start preparing for negative interest rates.
The dollar as measured by the ICE US Dollar Index DXY,
is up 0.2% and the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y,
was up 1.14%.
The strength of the dollar and rising bond yields can hamper the purchase of gold, which does not offer a coupon and is usually priced in dollars.
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