Bullions end losing streak

Traders continue to look for hints on the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week

Bullion prices ended higher at Comex on Thursday, 10 September 2015. Gold futures finished higher ending a string of losses that took prices to their lowest level in a month as investors continued to look for hints on the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.

Gold for December delivery picked up $7.30, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,109.30 an ounce on Comex.

December silver gained 6.9 cents, or 0.5%, to $14.645 an ounce.

The push higher for gold came amid volatility in U.S. stocks, which turned higher, reversing downward momentum earlier in Thursday's session.

BNP Paribas cut its 2015 outlook for gold by $15 and is expecting an average price of $1,145 an ounce. It also reaffirmed its view that the precious commodity will see a downturn through 2017, particularly as interest rates are expected to be raised in the U.S.

Economic data at Wall Street today included Initial Claims, Import/Export Prices, and Wholesale Inventories. The initial claims level declined to 275,000 for the week ending September 5 from a downwardly revised 281,000 (from 282,000) while the consensus expected a drop to 275,000. After a brief slip to multi-decade lows in July, the claims level has stabilized around 275,000, which is a level that supports the idea that the labor market is encroaching on full employment.

Wholesale inventories declined 0.1% in July after increasing a downwardly revised 0.7% (from 0.9%) in June while the consensus expected an increase of 0.3%. That was the first contraction since a 0.7% decline took place in May 2013, likely resulting from pricing changes and not changes in inventory management. A sharp drop in petroleum prices in July led to a 4.8% decline in wholesale petroleum inventories, but excluding petroleum, wholesale inventories were flat.

The next big U.S. economic data release is the August retail sales number on Tuesday.

Although market is not forecasting a rate increase as early as September, the bank does anticipate that U.S. interest rates will be lifted sometime this year. Higher rates are a boon for the dollar but make dollar-denominated assets like gold more expensive to purchasers in other currencies.

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