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Gold futures edged lower early Thursday, feeling some pressure as crude prices dropped sharply following reports the Biden administration was weighing a large release from its strategic petroleum reserve.
Gold for June delivery
GC00,
GCM22,
fell $4.40, or 0.2%, to $1,934.60 an ounce on Comex. May silver
SIK22,
was down 11.3 cents, or 0.4%, at $25 an ounce. Gold, based on the most actively traded futures contract, was on track for a 1.8% monthly rise and a 5.8% gain for the quarter, according to FactSet, while silver was up 2.6% and 7.1% for those periods, respectively.
The U.S. oil benchmark
CL.1,
CL00,
fell sharply, down 5.5%, after news reports said President Joe Biden was preparing to order the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil a day from the reserve.
The drop in crude prices “has somewhat allayed the inflation concerns of market participants, meaning that gold as a store of value appears to be in less demand initially today,” wrote analysts at Commerzbank, in a note.
