LONDON: Gold fell 1 per cent on Thursday to a near a 5-1/2-year low as the dollar rose after data showed the US economy improved in the second quarter, supporting views the Federal Reserve would lift rates by year-end.

Spot gold dropped as much as 1.3pc to a session low of $1,081.85 an ounce in earlier trade, not far from its cheapest since February 2010 at $1,077 hit after a selloff on July 20. It dropped 1.1pc to $1,084.21 by 1337 GMT.

Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York’s SPDR Gold Trust, were unchanged at 21.87 million ounces for a second day on Wednesday. That level is the lowest since September 2008.

Spot platinum was down 0.2pc at $980.50 an ounce, within reach of a 6-1/2-year low of $942.49 hit in the previous week. Palladium was up at $619 an ounce and silver dropped 0.1pc to $14.71 an ounce.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2015

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