NEW YORK: US gold and copper futures slid in early Thursday business when the euro tumbled after release of weak manufacturing data out of both the euro zone and China.
FUNDAMENTALS
Gold fell to its lowest level since mid-January on a stronger dollar, soft Asia consumer demand and weakening investor appetite for the metal.
Spot gold fell by as much as 1 percent to a session low of $1,631.74 an ounce, its lowest since January 16, to then trade at $1,633.69 an ounce by 0934 GMT.
COMEX April gold was down $16.50 per ounce, or 0.99 percent, to $1,633.90.
Copper prices fell to a two-week low after shrinking factory activity in top consumer China and worsening euro zone purchasing managers indexes (PMIs) raised concerns about the outlook for demand, with a weak euro adding pressure to prices.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)fell to $8,317.50 a tonne at 1015 GMT, down 1.6 percent from Wednesday's close of $8,455 a tonne.
COMEX May copper futures slid 8.30 cents to $3.7625 per lb.
ECONOMY
HSBC'S China flash Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 48.1 in March from February's 49.6.
Markit's German March factory PMI fell to 48.1, against expectations for 51.0 and February's 50.2.
Markit's Eurozone Composite PMI fell to 48.7 in March, below the 49.7 expected and 49.3 in February.
US initial jobless claims at 0830 EDT (1230 GMT) are seen at 354,000, up from last week's 351,000.
US February leading indicators at 1000 EDT (1400 GMT) are forecast up 0.6 percent, versus January's 0.5 percent rise.
MARKETS
World stocks slipped and the euro tumbled on concern about contractions in Chinese and German manufacturing.
Crude fell on weak Chinese and European manufacturing data and the implications for global energy demand.
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