Gold Prices Drop On Firmer Dollar

Gold was trading lower in Asia on Friday as the dollar rebounded.

Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were down $2.50 or 0.19%, to $1,300.50 a troy ounce at 12:16AM ET (04:16 GMT).

The dollar rebounded in morning trade in Asia Friday, although it was still hovering near three-week lows after sliding in the past few days.  The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, added 0.03% to 93.46.

Supporting the dollar and pressuring gold are expectations of another hike in interest rates when the U.S. Federal Reserve meets next week. With solid economic news continuing to come out of the U.S., the Fed is in a position to take an aggressive stance to tighten monetary policy and stay ahead of inflation. The U.S. reported a string of bullish economic data last week including nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate for May, boosting investors’ confidence in the U.S. economy.

Oil prices stable on Venezuelan supply trouble, but surging U.S. supply looms

Oil prices were stable on Friday, supported by Venezuela’s struggles to meet its supply obligations and by ongoing output cuts led by producer cartel OPEC, although surging U.S. crude output was looming over markets.

Brent crude futures (LCOc1), the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $77.24 per barrel at 0317 GMT, a notch below their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures (CLc1) were up 9 cents at $66.04 a barrel.

Prices were pushed up by supply trouble in Venezuela, where state-owned oil firm PDVSA is struggling to clear a backlog of around 24 million barrels of crude waiting to be shipped to customers.

Venezuela Is Said to Urge OPEC to Unite Against Sanctions

Venezuela wrote to fellow OPEC members urging them to unite against U.S. sanctions, echoing a similar letter from Iran, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The two countries requested that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should discuss the impact of American sanctions at its upcoming meeting on June 22, the people said. Both nations asked for support from fellow producers, invoking the terms of OPEC’s statutes.

“I kindly request solidarity and support from our fellow members,” Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo wrote in a copy of the letter seen by Bloomberg News. OPEC should discuss “the constraining effects of unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States of America, which represent an extraordinary aggression, financially and economically, for our national oil industry’s operations and the stability of the market.”

FOR MORE DETAILS LOG ON TO WWW.SHREEMCX.COM