Gold hits three-month high as U.S. data eases rate fears
Reuters - May 14, 2015
Gold hit a three-month high on Thursday as the dollar came under pressure following a new batch of mixed U.S. data that pushed back expectations of when interest rates in the world's largest economy will rise.
Spot gold rose to the highest since Feb. 17 at $1,227.04 an ounce and was trading up 0.5 percent at $1,221.43 an ounce by 2:28 p.m. EDT (1828 GMT).
U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled up $7 at $1,225.20 an ounce.
The metal was heading for its biggest weekly gain since January, mostly aided by an almost 2 percent rally on Wednesday after the dollar first tumbled to three-month lows after flat U.S. retail sales releases.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped last week close to a 15-year low reached last month, but other data showed that a strong dollar and lower oil prices suppressed producer inflation in April.
"These should be positive numbers for the U.S. markets," said Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York.
