Gold News & Info

Source: Myra P. Saefong, CBS.MarketWatch.com

San Francisco— Gold futures fell Wednesday, closing lower for the first time in four sessions, with upbeat U.S. economic data boosting the dollar, which in turn served to dull investment demand for the yellow metal.

Gold for December delivery closed at $394.70 an ounce, down $1.80 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained almost $7 in the past three sessions.

Data from the Institute for Supply Management Wednesday showed better-than-anticipated growth in the U.S. services sector for July. Factory orders for June also came in higher than expected, according to figures from the Commerce Department.

The data, as well as a decline in Japanese shares overnight, helped drive the dollar higher against the yen. Strength in the dollar often lures investors away from gold, which is used as a hedge against financial losses.

But "with the dollar still firmly in control of gold's direction, the market is really waiting for Friday's payroll data for a clear direction," James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, told clients in a note.

Amaury Conti, equity trader at Austin Calvert-Flavin, an investment adviser in San Antonio, Texas, agreed. The focus will be the employment report, "as investors will look to see how much energy prices and 'current soft-patch,' as per the Fed, is affecting hiring," he said.

"I believe it to be the key number … that gold traders are looking at in order to take gold back up above $400," he said.

Copper futures fell along with gold, with the dollar's strength damping demand for the industrial metal. September copper closed at $1.2945 a pound, down 0.85 cent, on the heels of a two-session decline.

But September silver climbed 5.2 cents to end at $6.737 an ounce, October platinum closed at $831.20 an ounce, up $2.10, and September palladium rose 95 cents to end the session at $218.45 an ounce.

Tracking inventories, copper supplies were down 833 short tons at 77,299 short tons as of late Tuesday, according to Nymex. Silver stocks were up 2.3 million troy ounces at 117.3 million while gold inventories stood at 4.66 million troy ounces, unchanged from the previous day.