Gold futures plummeted to end at a near four-week low for a fifth straight day Wednesday, after the dollar trended higher against a basket of major currencies and a slew of soft economic data from the U.S. and Europe. The precious metal was also impacted by restrictions on gold imports in India, even as global equity markets continued to push higher.
A major negative for gold came in the form of a Reserve Bank of India ban this week on gold imports through consignment. The central bank's measure is expected to curb unnecessary speculative or transitory gold demand in India, the largest consumer of gold in the world.
Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, plunged $28.30 or 2.0 percent to close at $1,396.20 an ounce Wednesday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold for June delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,429.40 and a low of $1,389.00 an ounce.
Yesterday, gold settled lower near a three-week low as investors leaned toward riskier assets tracking rising global equity markets with the dollar continuing to strengthen against a basket of some major currencies.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,051.65 tons.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 83.87 on Wednesday, up from 83.61 late Tuesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 84.09 intraday and a low of 83.54.
The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.2865 on Wednesday, as compared to $1.2921 late Tuesday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.2942 intraday and a low of $1.2844.
In economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said producer prices dropped 0.7 percent in April, mainly due to a slide in energy prices. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy sector, edged up by a modest 0.1 percent. Economists had expected the headline number to drop by 0.7 percent. Core prices were projected to rise by 0.2 percent.
Separately, the New York Federal Reserve said its Empire State Manufacturing Index came in at a negative 1.4 for May. This was down from a positive 3.1 in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to rise to a reading of positive 3.75.
U.S. homebuilder confidence rose more than expected in May, as attractive interest rates and a relatively low supply of existing homes has encouraged people to build new dwellings. Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved three points to a 44 reading on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for May. Analysts anticipated a more modest improvement to a reading of 43 from April's downwardly revised 41.
Elsewhere, the euro area economy remained in recession in the first three months of 2013 with gross domestic product contracting for a sixth consecutive quarter, preliminary estimates from Eurostat revealed Wednesday.
The eurozone economy contracted more than expected with gross domestic product dropping 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, faster than the expected 0.1 percent contraction. This followed a 0.6 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The German economy narrowly escaped recession in the first quarter of 2013, but the growth was weaker than forecast. Germany's gross domestic product grew 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations. This was weaker than the 0.3 percent growth forecast by economists.
France slipped to recession after its gross domestic product dipped more than expected in the first quarter, preliminary data from the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies showed Thursday. France's GDP dropped to a seasonally adjusted minus 0.2 percent from minus 0.2 percent in the previous quarter which was revised up from minus 0.3 percent. Analysts expected the French GDP to drop minus 0.1 percent for the first quarter.
Separately, the Bank of England lifted its estimate for economic growth and forecast inflation to return to its 2 percent target earlier than projected. The BoE forecast economic growth to accelerate to 0.5 percent in the second quarter from 0.3 percent in first quarter of 2013.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.