· Gold dipped slightly on Thursday, easing off a one-week high as the dollar rebounded following strong U.S. retail sales data, while palladium rose to its highest since February 2001.
· U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in November as the holiday shopping season got off to a brisk start. "We have not seen this strong pace of strength for the U.S. retail sales data since 2012," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK.
· Spot gold dipped 0.03 percent to $1,255.77 per ounce by 2:43 p.m. EST (1943 GMT). In early trading it touched a one-week high of $1,259.11.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery settled up $8.50, or 0.7 percent, at $1,257.10 per ounce.
· Palladium was up 1.4 percent at $1,030.80 an ounce. Earlier, it hit a 16-1/2-year high, jumping 2 percent to $1,038 an ounce.
· Strong U.S. retail sales data boosted the dollar, making dollar-denominated bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies. "Many went into yesterday's Fed meeting with an expectation for more (interest) rate hikes as opposed to less," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures in Chicago. "This was a technical retracement off yesterday's highs."
· While U.S. tax reform uncertainty may support gold, there were also risks bullion could revisit its range bottom close to $1,200, said Jonathan Butler, commodities analyst at Mitsubishi in London, due to a continued increase in U.S. stocks and unconventional assets including crypto currencies.
· Platinum dipped 0.7 percent at $878.80 an ounce, earlier reaching a 6-day high of $891.20.
· Silver fell 0.8 percent to $15.93 an ounce, after hitting a five-month low of $15.59 in the previous session.
Reference: Reuters
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