International Monetary Fund and Gold Futures

U.S. Dollar Index: Analysts said that gold was put under pressure as Greece told the International Monetary Fund on Thursday that it planned on bundling four payments due in June, with the first due Friday, into one single payment for June 30, according to Xinhua China. This gave investors some confidence, as they had expected a deal, temporarily removing the need for gold as a safe haven, the analysts said. The most active gold contract for August delivery fell 9.7 U.S. dollars, or 0.82 percent, to settle at 1,175.20 dollars per ounce. The stronger U.S. dollar also weighed on gold as the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, rose by 0.14 percent to 95.51 as of 1805 GMT. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors. The positive jobless claims report also increased speculation about the potential rise of interest rates. Moreover, a weekly jobless claims report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday put additional pressure on the precious metal as jobless claims fell by 8,000 during the May 30 week to a reading of 276,000. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.