By Feiwen Rong (’03), Bloomberg
December 15, 2006

Gold was little changed in Asia after a drop in U.S. jobless claims and a rebound in retail sales underpinned the dollar and reduced the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment.

The dollar strengthened after a government report showed fewer U.S. workers filed first-time jobless claims in the past week. The U.S. currency was also supported by a report on Dec. 13 that retail sales increased last month for the first time since July. Gold tends to track movements in the U.S. currency.

“Gold has difficulty to advance due to the dollar’s strength,” said Wang Xinyou, senior gold analyst at Agricultural Bank of China in Beijing. “Recent economic data from the U.S. all point to a sound economy there.”

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