Gold Hurt by Stronger U.S. Economic Data

[Bob Of Burleson]

Signs of Health in U.S. Economy Outweigh Ukraine Worries

By Tatyana Shumsky
The Wall Street Journal

Gold prices fell to the lowest level in nearly two weeks on Friday as signs of health in the U.S. economy outweighed news of a skirmish near the Ukraine-Russia border.

Gold for December delivery, the most-actively traded contract, fell $9.50, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,306.20 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was the lowest settlement since Aug. 5, when futures closed at $1,285.30 an ounce and is down 0.4% on the week.

Prices fell to $1,293 an ounce in early trade amid signs of diplomatic progress in Eastern Europe, as Ukrainian border guards and customs officers inspected a convoy of nearly 300 trucks that Russia said carried humanitarian aid.

But gold pared losses after Ukraine said its artillery destroyed a large part of a column of armored vehicles that had been seen entering Ukraine from Russia.

Ukraine has for weeks accused Russia of sending men and heavy weapons to pro-Russia rebels that hold several towns and cities in Ukraine's east. Russia has denied sending men and weapons into eastern Ukraine.

"There's enough uncertainty for prices to rebound and stabilize going into the weekend," said Bill O'Neill a principal with commodities investment firm Logic Advisors in Upper Saddle River, N.J.

The fact that gold prices didn't fully recoup the earlier losses reveals the complacency that many traders feel in relation to the Ukrainian conflict, said Bob Haberkorn, a senior commodities broker with RJO Futures in Chicago.

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