Gold Extends Losses Ahead Of ECB; Jobs Data

Gold....
Gold futures extended losses in the Asia electronic session today, tumbling below the key $1600 levels with traders also being cautious ahead of key events later in the week. Analysts at Société Générale on Tuesday reiterated their bearish stance on gold prices. Their base-case 2013 forecast is for $1,500 an ounce on average, with a drop to $1,375 an ounce by the end of the year.
Investors are keeping eye on European Central Bank meeting today. Policymakers are expected to keep the central bank's interest rate steady at a record low.
The Bank of Japan, under new Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, is also gearing up for a two-day policy meeting beginning on April 3. The central bank is expected to expand its asset-purchase programme. The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey for March, released on Monday in Tokyo, showed confidence among big Japanese manufacturers improved for the first time in three quarters, although the gain fell short of economists' estimates.
European stock markets traded in negative territory at the op
en on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of key events later in the week, such as central bank meetings and U.S. employment data. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.2% to 296.96. France's CAC 40 index lost 0.6% to 3,783.33, while Germany's DAX 30 index shed 0.1% to 7,935.10. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index lost 0.4% to 6,467.21.
Gold for June delivery tumbled $8.7 at $ 1567.2 an ounce falling to as low as $ 1563.1 earlier in the session. Yesterday, it dropped $25, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,575.90 an ounce. It was just a day earlier that gold reclaimed the $1,600 an-ounce level, rising $5.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,617.90 an ounce.
Investors on Tuesday were also lured away from gold as U.S. equities rallied, fueled in part by a rise in U.S. factory orders in February and upbeat auto sales figures for March. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index finished at record highs.
The precious metal was hurt by a rise in the greenback against the euro following disappointing data from Europe, including contraction in the euro-zone manufacturing sector in March. The dollar also rose against the yen ahead of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting. The dollar on Wednesday continued to rise against the yen as the Bank of Japan started its two-day monetary policy meeting.
MCX June gold futures are trading down nearly Rs 200 at Rs 29410 per 10 grams. The counter should face a resistance near Rs 29470 levels today with support around Rs 29350 and Rs 29270 levels.
Source by Commodity Insights