VINACHEM

Gold futures fell as signs of gainsin the U.S. economy eroded demand for the metal. Platinumdropped amid signs of progress in the labor dispute in South Africa, the world’s biggest producer.

Consumer confidence rose from a nine-week low as Americansgrew more upbeat about the economy, and jobless claims wereclose to the lowest in almost seven years, data showed today.The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia factory index, a gaugeof regional manufacturing, climbed to 16.6 in April, toppingestimates by analysts. Gold dropped 1.9% this week.

“These positive economic reports are pushing gold lower,”Fain Shaffer, the president of Infinity Trading Corp. inIndianapolis, said in a telephone interview. “There’s notreally a compelling story to buy gold now, other than thesituation in Crimea.”

Gold futures for June delivery fell 0.7 percent to close at$1,293.90 an ounce at 1:40 p.m. on the Comex in New York.Trading was 28 percent below the average in the past 100 days,according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The market will beclosed tomorrow for Good Friday.

This year, gold has climbed 7.6 percent this year on havendemand linked to the turmoil in Ukraine. Diplomats from theEastern European country, Russia, the U.S. and the EuropeanUnion met for talks on the crisis in Geneva today.

‘Under Pressure’

“As the U.S economy continues to recover, gold willremain under pressure,” said Wang Xiaoli, chief investmentstrategist at CITICS Futures Co. in Shenzhen, a unit of China’sbiggest listed brokerage. “The situation in Ukraine just meansthere will be buyers when prices dip below $1,300.”

In 2013, gold plunged 28 percent, the most since 1981, asU.S. equities rallied to a record and inflation remained muted.The slump ended a 12-year rally, the longest ever.

Yesterday, holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largestexchange traded product backed by the metal, fell the most infour months to 798.43 metric tons, the lowest since Feb. 21.

Platinum futures for July delivery dropped 0.6 percent toclose at $1,428.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The price for immediate delivery fell as much as 1.5 percent at2:12 p.m.

Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Lonmin Plc and ImpalaPlatinum Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s top producers, offered tomore than double the wages of their lowest-paid workers withinthree years as a strike that has crippled operations entered the13th week.

Palladium futures for June delivery climbed 0.6 percent to$807.10 an ounce on the Nymex.

Silver futures for May delivery fell 0.2 percent to $19.596an ounce on the Comex.