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CHICAGO, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange futures fell on Thursday as weak U.S. economic data and a pullback in the U.S. dollar failed to provide support for the metal's prices.
The most active gold contract for June delivery dropped 9.3 dollars, or 0.67 percent, to settle at 1,386.9 dollars per ounce.
The decline followed news of a decline in the U.S. inflation rate as well as a recent string of gains in U.S. equities that has drawn attention away from gold. The U.S. consumer prices fell 0.4 percent in April, according to the Labor Department.
There has been heavy fund selling in the past few days, and traders continue to see this rotation out of precious metals. According to market analysts, recent strength in U.S. equities and the dollar contributed to gold's losing streak, which has cut prices by a total of 6 percent in six sessions.
Through Wednesday, gold dropped 17 percent this year, tumbling into a bear market last month, as some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value, while the dollar rose 5.1 percent against a six-currency basket.
As of Wednesday, holdings in the SPDR fund fell 0.4 percent to 1,047.13 metric tons, the lowest since March 2009. They have declined 303.7 tons this year. Soros Fund Management LLC cuts its stake in the fund by 55 percent in the fourth quarter.
The World Gold Council said Thursday that demand dropped 13 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as exchange traded products sales outweighed a surge in purchases of coins, bars and jewelry in China and India.
Silver for July delivery added 0.1 cents, or 0.4 percent, to close at 22.659 dollars per ounce.
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