(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) Gold futures pared losses on Monday after unexpectedly weaker U.S. economic data spurred some safe-haven buying.
Gold fell more than 1 percent earlier as buyers cashed in gains after the metal posted its biggest monthly rise in three years in January.
Gold futures for April delivery settled down 0.2 percent at $1276.90 per ounce.
Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1279.51 an ounce at 2:45 p.m.
Gold attracted safe-haven buyers after data showed that U.S. factory activity had cooled in January suggesting the economy may have entered the new year on a slightly softer footing than expected.
In other metals March silver climbed 0.1 percent to $17.23 an ounce. was down 0.6 percent at $1228.35 an ounce while palladium was up 1.9 percent at $783.50 an ounce.
In energy trading crude-oil futures briefly tapped $50 a barrel today pushing back against earlier losses that stemmed from strikes at U.S. refineries and sluggish manufacturing data from China.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange West Texas Intermediate for March delivery swung higher by 2.8 percent to $49.57 a barrel after touching a session high at $50.56.
Futures had been down 3 percent intraday. Nymex crude last month lost 9.4% and has been down for seven consecutive months.
Brent crude for March delivery reversed course and rose 3 percent to $54.60 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. The contract had been down more than 2 percent.
The global oil benchmark lost 7.6 percent in January and has also fallen for seven consecutive months.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.