Investing.com - Gold futures held steady on Friday, ahead of U.S. data as demand for the safe-haven metal weakened after Thursday's upbeat U.S. economic reports, although concerns over ongoing tensions in Ukraine still lent some support.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery traded at $1,293.90 a troy ounce during European afternoon trade, up 0.02%.
The June contract settled 0.94% lower on Thursday to end at $1,293.6 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,282.30 a troy ounce, the low from May 12 and resistance at $1,309.10, the high from May 14.
Gold prices came under pressure after the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 10 fell by 24,000 to 297,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 321,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall by 1,000 to 320,000 last week.
A separate report showed that U.S. core consumer price inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose by 0.2% last month, more than the expected 0.1% uptick, while consumer price inflation rose 0.3% in April, in line with expectations.
In addition, the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia said its manufacturing index ticked down to 15.4 this month, from a reading of 16.6 in April, compared to expectations for a fall to 14.0.
The New York Fed said its manufacturing index climbed to a more than two-year high of 19.01 in May, from a reading of 1.29 in April. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 5.00 this month.
U.S. industrial production dropped 0.6% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.1% rise. March's figure was revised up to a 0.9% increase from a previously estimated 0.7% gain.
Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor developments in Ukraine as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia it faced broader economic and industrial sanctions if it meddled in Ukraine's presidential elections on May 25.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery dropped 0.67% to trade at $19.353 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery rose 0.23% to trade at $3.154 a pound.