Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold and silver fell Wednesday as the U.S. dollar rose from a five-month low against the euro after data showed the European economy shrank 2.5% in the first quarter. The dollar also got a boost after new data gave a mixed outlook for the services and manufacturing sectors of the U.S. economy. The dollar index rose Wednesday for the first session in five. A stronger dollar reduces gold's investment appeal. Gold for June delivery fell $18.10, or 1.8%, to $965.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. July silver fell 50 cents, or 3.1%, to $15.455 an ounce. The white metal touched a 10-month high of $16.25 in overnight trading. Meanwhile, copper declined for a second session, continuing its slide from the highest level in more than seven months. Copper for July delivery lost 7.35 cents, or 3.2%, to $2.224 a pound.

The ADP employment index released Wednesday helped push copper lower after the index indicated the U.S. private sector continued job cuts — 532,000 jobs were eliminated in May. The number of job losses, however, was the smallest since November. The index data comes two days before the government releases its estimate of May nonfarm payrolls. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch are looking for payrolls to drop by 500,000 in the government survey, which would be the smallest decline since October. See full story.