Gold Loses $20 amid Stronger US Currency

The yellow metal fell more than $ 20 on Thursday's trading amid renewed optimism over the US economy.

For the first time in 5 sessions, gold losses extended further as the greenback's value appreciated, following the release of positive economic data. The dollar strengthened as jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since 1969. Moreover, producer prices expanded more than expected, leading to less demand for the precious metal.

The minutes of the Fed's last meeting revealed that the Federal Reserve's interest rate trends would be flexible. The Fed's confirmed their confidence in the economic review of Q2 despite expectations of restraint in Q1.

Gold futures fell 1.6 percent to record $ 1293.30 per ounce, the lowest since last March.

Meantime, the spot price of gold plunged 1.3 percent to record $ 1290.848 an ounce.

However, the dollar index, which measures the performance of the currency against six other major currencies, surged by more than 0.2 percent to mark 97.188.