Gold rates dropped to a one-week low on Thursday (April 17) as higher U. S. equities broke safe-haven demand, and the bullion market showcased signals of a slump in investment demand and technical selling.

Slow physical buying was also offering little support to prices. U. S. gold future for June delivery fell $13.70 at $879.80 per ounce on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, stated that holdings dropped to 1,119.43 tonnes as of April 16, down 0.7% from the previous day. Holdings had been a record 1,127.68 tonnes since April 9 when that level was first reached.

Oil fell below $50 per barrel today, paring Thursday's gains as mixed U. S. economic data highlighted the weak state of a possible revival in the world's top power user. Crude's Thursday increase was fuelled by an increase on Wall Street and data that demonstrated the number of U. S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week.

But continuing claims surged to a record as the recession bit. Crude's Thursday increase was backed by a surge on Wall Street and data that showed the number of U. S. workers registering new claims for jobless advantages unpredictably fell last week.

Preliminary April consumer outlook data, due later in the day, could shed light on whether the rate of contraction in the U. S. economy is easing.

Slower-than-expected economic growth in China and a sharp deterioration in new home construction in the United States pulled the price of copper down on Thursday, but falling inventories slowed the rate of decline. Copper for three months delivery on the London Metal Exchange closed at $4,729 a tonne, down $90 from Wednesday's close.