2019.05.0214:50:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle At Over 4-month Low

Gold prices drifted lower on Thursday, weighed down by a slightly stronger dollar and the Fed's comments on Wednesday that dashed hopes for a rate cut in the near term.

The dollar index rose to a high of 97.85 in late morning trades and was seen hovering around 97.80 a little while ago, up nearly 0.2% from previous close.

Gold futures for June ended down $12.20, or 1%, at $1,272.00 an ounce, the lowest settlement since December 24, 2018.

Gold futures for June settled at $1,284.20 an ounce on Thursday, netting a loss of $1.50, or 0.1%.

Silver futures for July ended down $0.112, at $14.617 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $2.7795, down $0.0220 from previous close.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, but played down concerns over recent soft inflation, suggesting it's unlikely to either raise or cut rates in coming months.

In economic news today, a report from the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods jumped by more than expected in the month of March amid substantial rebound in orders for transportation equipment.

The report said factory orders rose 1.9% in the month, after falling by a revised 0.3% in February. Economists had expected orders to surge up by 1.5%, compared to the 0.5% drop originally reported for the previous month.

Durable goods orders rose by 2.6% in March, while orders for non-durable goods showed a 1.1% increase in the month. In February, durable goods orders fell 1.3%, while non-durable goods orders were up 0.8%.

A report from the Labor Department showed a much bigger than expected 3.6% increase in labor productivity in the first quarter. Productivity climbed by a revised 1.3% in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year.

Economists had expected production to jump by 2.2% compared to the 1.9% increase that had been reported for the previous quarter.

Another report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in at 230,000, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised level of 230,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 215,000.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on the employment situation in the month of April.