Gold futures traded modestly lower during Friday’s Asian session as traders booked profits in the yellow metal following a solid showing Thursday’s U.S. session.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for July delivery inched down 0.07% to USD1,390.85 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday after settling up 1.36% at USD1,386.05 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday.

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,353.55 a troy ounce, Wednesday’s low, and resistance at USD1,413.05, Wednesday’s high.

Gold’s safe-haven status, imperiled for much of this year as traders have favored the U.S. dollar, was reborn for at least one day Thursday. Following a turbulent Asian session that saw Japanese stocks plunge to their worst one-day performance in more than two years, U.S. stocks dipped at the open.

The situation was made worse by disappointing Chinese economic data. On Thursday, a preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to 49.6 from a final reading of 50.4 in April, missing market expectations for a 50.5 reading

U.S. economic data out Thursday was a bit better. In U.S. economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits ell by 23,000 to 340,000 last week. Economists expected a reading of 345,000 new claims. The less volatile four-week moving average for May fell to 339,500 from 362,000.

The Commerce Department said new home sales rose 2.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 units. The median sales price rose 8.3%.

Meanwhile, Comex silver for July delivery nudged down 0.06% to USD22.495 while copper for July delivery fell 0.08% to USD3.315 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar traded higher against nearly all of its major rivals during Thursday’s Asian session a day after U.S. equities plummeted on comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke regarding the possible end of the third round of quantitative easing.

In Asian trading Thursday, EUR/USD fell 0.25% to 1.2828 after Bernanke said the Fed’s USD85 billion per month bond-buying program, also known as the third version of quantitative easing, will stay in place for now. That is what financial markets wanted to hear, but the Fed chairman threw a curve ball by saying QE could taper off if conditions in the world’s largest economy improve.

In prepared testimony in Congress earlier, Bernanke said ultra-loose monetary policy was providing “significant benefits” to the economic recovery and reiterated that the bank’s asset-purchasing program will remain in place for now.

GBP/USD dropped 0.22% to 1.5018 after the Office for National Statistics said U.K. retail sales fell 1.3% in April from March, the largest fall in a year and defying market calls for a flat reading. Retail sales rose 0.5% from a year earlier, well below expectations for a 2.0% increase.

Separately, the minutes of the Bank of England’s May meeting showed that three policymakers, including Governor Mervyn King, voted in favor of more easing this month, unchanged from April.

Bernanke’s dollar-bolstering comments had the predictable impact of sending the greenback soaring against the yen. USD/JPY rose 0.34% to 103.52, a fresh four-and-a-half year high.

USD/CHF jumped 0.35% to 0.9819 while USD/CAD rose 0.24% to 1.0395 as oil prices drifted lower. In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 0.6% last month to an annual rate of 4.97 million units, the highest level since November 2009.

With China’s PMI report looming later Thursday, AUD/USD fell 0.63% to 0.9641 while NZD/USD fell 0.51% to 0.8036. China is the largest export destination for both Australia and New Zealand.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major rivals during Wednesday’s Asian as traders await testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later Wednesday.

In Asian trading Wednesday, EUR/USD rose 0.14% to 1.2925 even after St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said the European Central Bank should consider quantitative easing. While the ECB lowered interest rates following its last meeting, the central bank has been reluctant to engage in quantitative easing. Bullard made the remarks in Germany.

USD/JPY gained 0.10% to 102.61 after Japan’s Finance Ministry said the country’s trade deficit widened to a larger-than-expected 879.9 billion yen in April. Exports rose 3.8% to 5.78 trillion yen, but imports increased 9.4% to 6.66 trillion yen. The U.S. was Japan’s largest export market last month.

GBP/USD inched up 0.02% to 1.5156. On Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics said the U.K.’s consumer price index slowed to an annual rate of 2.4% in April from 2.8% the previous month, missing expectations for a reading of 2.6%.

Month-over-month, consumer price inflation rose 0.2% in April, below expectations for a 0.4% increase, after rising 0.3% in March. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, came in at 2.0% from 2.4% in March. Analysts were expecting a 2.3% reading for core inflation prices.

Minutes from the Bank of England’s latest policy meeting are scheduled to be released later Wednesday.

USD/CHF fell 0.07% go 0.9697 while USD/CAD inched up 0.02% to 1.0273.

AUD/USD fell 0.21% to 0.9787. On Tuesday, a strategist from Credit Agricole said in a media interview that the Aussie has been beaten up and that a lot of the bad news is already priced into the flailing currency. He said the Aussie may continue to fall against the dollar, but called it a good value against the Canadian and New Zealand dollars.

NZD/USD fell 0.10% to 0.8164 while the U.S. Dollar Index inched down 0.09% to 83.85.

Following a slack day for U.S. stocks that carried over to Tuesday’s Asian session, the U.S. dollar gained ground against most of its major rivals amid risk-off sentiment.

In Asian trading Tuesday, EUR/USD fell 0.10% to 1.2873. On Monday, Czech Republic President Milos Zeman said his small businesses in his country, already a member of the European Union, want to adopt the common currency.

Zeman added his country, in the midst of its worst recession since 1996, could be ready to adopt the euro within five years.

USD/JPY rebounded 0.45% to 102.75 after falling Monday after comments from Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari. In comments made Monday, Amari said the rapidly depreciating yen could harm the world’s third-largest economy and that it is the responsibility of the government there to prevent that from happening.

The Bank of Japan has enacted massive monetary easing measures to steer the country away from deflationary decline and more towards growth, with the yen plunging to lows against the dollar not seen since 2008.

GBP/USD fell 0.17% to 1.5232 as some traders continue to speculate sterling could be the next developed market currency to tumble against the greenback. The Bank of England meets later this week.

USD/CHF added 0.19% to 0.9690 while USD/CAD gained 0.22% to 1.0267 as oil prices traded in lethargic fashion.

AUD/USD fell 0.33% to 0.9776 on news reports that the Aussie could fall to 0.9000 against the greenback. Last week, Goldman Sachs said AUD/USD could fall as low as 0.8000. The Aussie slipped below parity against the U.S. dollar last week.

NZD/USD fell 0.21% to 0.8156 while the U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.16% to 84.04.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major rivals in Asian trading Monday even as dollar-denominated metals such as gold and silver tumbled on increased selling pressure.

In Asian trading Monday, EUR/USD inched lower by 0.04% to 1.2830. The dollar gained against the common currency even after the Federal Reserve last week attempted to put to bed speculation that it is close winding down or ending its USD85 billion per month bond-buying program known as the third version of quantitative easing.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein told a European newspaper over the weekend that he is confident the euro survive the region’s sovereign debt crisis. Blankfein also rejected George Soros’ call for Germany, the euro zone’s largest economy, to either leave the currency program or accept liability for the debt crisis through euro-bonds.

USD/JPY fell 0.33% to 102.86 after climbing to an almost six-year high last week. USD/JPY traded above 103 last week for the first time since October 2008.

GBP/USD rose 0.06% to 1.5179. Later today, the U.K. is scheduled to release private sector data on house price inflation.

Last Friday, Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 83.7 in May from 76.4 in April, surging past expectations for a rise to 78.0. The University of Michigan also said its inflation expectations for this month remained unchanged at 3.1%.

USD/CHF fell 0.11% to 0.9715 while USD/CAD rose 0.14% to 1.0292 as oil prices drifted slightly lower. Markets in Canada are to remain closed for the Victoria Day holiday.

AUD/USD rose 0.13% to 0.9750. On May 17, Goldman Sachs predicted the Aussie’s declines against the greenback are not over. The venerable Wall Street bank said AUD/USD could fall as low as 0.8000.

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut its benchmark rate to a record low of 2.75 percent. That is 500 basis points lower than RBA’s rates of five years ago.

NZD/USD rose 0.23% to 0.8088 while the U.S. Dollar Index is flat at 84.34.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major rivals during Thursday’s Asian session as traders digested a batch of critical economic data points from some of the world’s largest economies.

In Asian trading Thursday, EUR/USD inched down 0.07% to 1.2881 after data showed euro zone GDP contracted 0.2% in the first quarter, worse than the expected 0.1% contraction. Germany, the euro zone’s largest economy, said its first-quarter rose just 0.1%, short of the expected 0.2% increase.

GBP/USD inched up 0.02% to 1.5241 after the Bank of England predicted earlier that U.K. economic growth may speed up to 0.5% in the second quarter from 0.3% in the first three months of the year, which gave the pound support.

Furthermore, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in the U.K. declined more than expected in April, dropping by 7,300 after a 9,900 decline the previous month. Analysts were expecting a decline of 3,000. Separately, the U.K. unemployment rate ticked down to 7.8% in March from 7.9% in February.

USD/JPY fell 0.10% to 102.16 despite a positive first-quarter GDP report out of Japan, the world’s third-largest economy. Indicating that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s weak yen strategy is working, Japan’s Cabinet Office said earlier Thursday that the country’s first-quarter GDP surged 3.5%, easily topping expectations calling for 2.7% growth.

USD/CHF rose 0.09% to 0.9658 while USD/CAD inched down 0.02% to 1.0158. In U.S. economic news, industrial production fell more than expected in April, contracting 0.5% after expanding a revised 0.3% in March.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said the country’s monthly producer price index fell 0.7% in April, outpacing analysts calls for a 0.6% fall and beyond the 0.6% decline during the previous month.

AUD/USD rose 0.09% to 0.9909 while NZD/USD advanced 0.29% to 0.8266. The U.S. Dollar Index inched down 0.04% to 83.88.

The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies on Tuesday after conflicting data out of Europe sent investors flocking to the safety of the greenback to await more definitive steering currents.

In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was down 0.25% at 1.2944.

Data out of Europe released earlier both exceeded and missed market expectations, leaving investors favoring the safe-and-liquid dollar to ride out the uncertainty.

The ZEW index of German economic sentiment rose to 36.4 in May from 36.3 in April, well below expectations for a reading of 38.3, which bolstered the dollar’s appeal.

The index of current conditions fell to 8.9 from 9.2 in April, which markets interpreted as a sign that the German economy could face headwinds in its quest to rebound from a 0.5% contraction in the fourth quarter.

Inflation in Germany, meanwhile, did not surprise.

The country’s consumer price index contracted 0.5 % in April from March and rose 1.2% from April of last year, both figures in line with expectations.

Elsewhere, Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, reported that industrial production in the euro area rose by 1% in March from February, more than double expectations for a 0.4% increase.

Also supporting the euro and other higher-yielding currencies, Spain saw borrowing costs fall to the lowest level since 2010 at an auction of 12-month government bonds.

Meanwhile in the U.S., import prices dropped 0.5% in March, meeting market expectations, while export prices declined 0.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD trading down 0.45% at 1.5230.

The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.43% at 102.27, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.82% at 0.9654.

The yen has hit lows not seen since late 2008 this week after economic policymakers from the Group of Seven industrialized economies refrained from criticizing Japan over policies that have resulted in a weaker yen.

The Bank of Japan has rolled out massive stimulus polices in recent months to steer the country away from deflationary decline, which have weakened the yen.

Wealthy G7 nations concluded at a U.K. summit over the weekend that such policies are designed to spur growth in Japan and are not out to give the Asian economy unfair advantages in global trade arenas.

The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.65% at 1.0173, AUD/USD down 0.62% at 0.9890 and NZD/USD trading down 0.75% at 0.8188.

In New Zealand, retail sales rose 0.5% in the first quarter, according to official data, missing expectations for a 0.8% increase.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.41% at 83.69.

On Wednesday, the U.S. is to release data on producer price inflation, industrial production, the capacity utilization rate and a report on manufacturing activity in New York State.

The dollar firmed against the yen on Monday after U.S. retail sales beat expectations and fueled talk that the Federal Reserve may be closer to scaling back monetary stimulus programs that weaken the greenback by design.

In U.S. trading on Monday, USD/JPY was trading at 101.92, up 0.30%, up from a session low of 101.52 and off a high of 102.16.

The pair was likely to find resistance at 102.40, the high from Oct. 20, 2008, and support at 101.52, the earlier low.

The Commerce Department reported earlier that U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in April, defying expectations for a 0.3% decline. March’s figure was revised down to a 0.5% contraction from a 0.4% contraction.

Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by 0.1% last month, in line with expectations.

The numbers sparked talk that the Federal Reserve may be closer to scaling back stimulus programs, especially its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weaken the dollar to spur recovery.

Lingering optimism from stronger-than-expected monthly hiring data and weekly jobless claims reports bolstered the greenback as well.

The yen, meanwhile, moved up from lows not seen since October 2008 after economic policymakers from the Group of Seven industrialized economies refrained from criticizing Japan over policies which have resulted in a weaker yen.

The Bank of Japan has rolled out massive stimulus polices in recent months to steer the country away from deflationary decline, which have weakened the yen.

Wealthy G7 nations concluded at a U.K. summit over the weekend that such policies are designed to spur growth in Japan and are not out to give the Asian economy unfair advantages in global trade arenas.

The yen, meanwhile, was up against the pound and down against the euro, with GBP/JPY down 0.17% and trading at 155.87 and EUR/JPY trading up 0.17% at 132.24.

On Tuesday, the U.S. is to publish official data on import prices.

The U.S. dollar traded higher against nearly all of its major rivals during Monday’s Asian session as speculation that the Federal Reserve is again considering winding down or bringing an end to its quantitative easing program permeated financial markets.

In Asian trading Monday, EUR/USD fell 0.17% to 1.2969 on speculation the end is near for the Fed’s USD85 billion monthly asset-purchasing program, which weakens the greenback to bolster recovery in the world’s largest economy.

An improving U.S. labor market could be the catalyst to hasten the end of monetary stimulus. Last Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 18,000 last week to a five-year low of 324,000. Analysts expected a reading of 345,000 claims.

USD/JPY climbed 0.30% to 101.94 after the Bank of Japan said the country’s M2 money supply rose 3.3% last month to JPY844.5 trillion. Economists expected an increase of 3.1%.

Japan’s M3 money stock rose 2.6% to JPY1,142.0 trillion, topping the expected increase of 2.5%. L money stock increased 2% for the year to JPY1,480.2 trillion.

GBP/USD nudged lower by 0.07% to 1.5356 while USD/CHF rose 0.09% to 0.9583. Later Monday, Switzerland will produce official data on retail sales.

USD/CAD added 0.12% to 1.0121 as oil prices dipped. Market participants are also becoming increasingly concerned that a real estate and consumer debt bubble are brewing in Canada.

Following ample chatter of imminent parity last week, AUD/USD dropped 0.30% to 0.9992. Last week, the Reserve Bank of Australia lowered interest rates to 2.75% from 3%, pressuring the Aussie in the process. Traders expect the Aussie will remain under pressure if the U.S. retail sales data, due out later Monday, is strong..

NZD/USD fell 0.24% to 0.8285 while the U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.18% to 83.33.

The U.S. dollar traded broadly higher against its major rivals during Friday’s Asian session, supported by a favorable jobless claims report.

In Asian trading Friday, EUR/USD fell 0.12% to 1.3028. News reports out of the U.S. Thursday indicated Cyprus strongly considered departing the common currency regime during its March financial crisis.

A separate report said the Netherlands could actually be the first nation to leave the euro because consumer debt there has touched 250% of available income, double the level seen in Spain.

USD/JPY jumped 0.31% to 100.94 as the pair finally cracked the psychologically important 100 level. The greenback had encountered stiff resistance there during several recent attempts. Japan’s Ministry of Finance said Friday that the country’s current account surplus rose to JPY1.25 trillion in March, topping economists’ expectations calling for a surplus of JPY1.22 trillion.

GBP/USD inched down 0.03% to 1.5447 after a Bank of England decision to hold interest rates unchanged at a record low sent sterling lower.

BoE left interest rates unchanged at a record low 0.5% and maintained the size of its asset purchase program at GBP375 billion.

USD/CHF rose 0.24% to 0.9508 while USD/CAD inched up by 0.08% to 1.0078. In U.S. economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 18,000 last week to a five-year low of 324,000. Analysts expected a reading of 345,000 claims.

Separately, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $38.8 billion in the first quarter.

AUD/USD fell 0.15% to 1.0077 as chatter increased that the Aussie will fall to parity with the greenback. As it is, AUD/USD is hovering near 11-month lows.

NZD/USD fell 0.14% to 0.8380 while the U.S. Dollar Index added 0.08% to 82.84.