Gold closes in red as US dollar gains ground

Gold alloys

Gold prices turned lower at settlement today, May 16, as the US dollar and bond yields firmed as traders evaluated the prospects for US monetary policy.

Bullion for June delivery shed 0.40%, or $9.40, at $2,385.50 per ounce, after rising in early trading to $2,402.70 an ounce.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, climbed by 0.1% to 104.47 points at 08:42 pm Makkah time, after touching 104.63 points during the session.

“Gold market is seeing some routine profit-taking pressure by the short-term futures traders after the recent gains, while the firmer U.S. dollar Index today is also adding to that pressure,” Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Analysts anticipate US unemployment claims to decline to 220,000 applications for the week ended May 11, after reaching 231,000 applications in the previous week, implying continued labor market momentum.