Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures ended higher Wednesday as the dollar fell and as analysts cited physical demand for the precious metal, softening a monthly loss and helping gold notch its six-straight quarterly advance. Gold for June delivery, the most active contract, ended the New York floor session with a rise of $8.80, or 0.8%, to $1,114.50 an ounce. For the month, gold slid 0.4%, based on the most active contract. But it's gained 1.7% for the quarter.

Gold's recent moves have largely been influenced by the foreign-exchange market, said Frank Lesh, a broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading in Chicago. "This week we really had a pretty strong correlation between gold and the dollar," he said. As the markets head toward an extended weekend, thin trading helped cement the relationship, he added. Helping gold, the U.S. currency started the day on a wobbly note and fell further after a survey by payroll-processor ADP said companies in the private sector cut 23,000 jobs in March. Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch had expected an increase of 40,000 jobs. See full story.