Precious metals end 1.5% lower

Some positive remarks on the U.S. economy from Fed Chairwoman pushed prices lower

Bullion metals ended 1.5% lower at Comex on Wednesday, 07 May 2014. Gold futures settled below $1,300 an ounce on Wednesday for the first time in nearly a week, as generally upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on the U.S. economy helped dull safe-haven demand for the metal. A potential de-escalation in the Russia-Ukraine crisis also weighed on the safe-haven metal.

Gold for June delivery fell $19.70, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,288.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

July silver lost 30 cents, or 1.5%, to $19.34 an ounce.

Some positive remarks on the U.S. economy from Fed Chair Janet Yellen helped push gold prices solidly lower on Wednesday. Gold prices were already trading moderately lower in morning dealings on Wednesday and then extended losses in the wake of remarks from Yellen to the U.S. Congress. She said the U.S. economy and the economic outlook are generally on the upswing.

Also negative for gold on Wednesday are reported comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin that indicated he wants to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, including possibly pulling his troops back from the Ukrainian border.

The next big economic event for the world market places comes with the European Central Bank monthly monetary policy meeting on Thursday. There is growing pressure on the ECB to implement further monetary policy stimulus measures, amid worries about price deflation in the European Union. The Euro currency is at a multi-week high against the U.S. dollar, and the strength of the common currency is also a concern to many European officials and another reason to EU interest rates.

The China Gold Association on Wednesday said China's total gold consumption in the first quarter was at 322.99 metric tons, edging up by about 2.45 metric tons, or 0.8%, from the same period a year ago. Consumption of gold bars, however, dropped nearly 44% to 67.95 metric tons.

U.S. economic data released Wednesday included preliminary productivity and costs, the global services PMI, the weekly DOE liquid energy stock report, and consumer installment credit. None of the data had much of an impact on the market place.

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