Gold slips slightly in Asian trade

Gold futures fell modestly during Friday’s Asian session, extending declines seen during U.S. trade Thursday as traders digest central bank commentary.

Traders departed gold after the U.S. Dollar Index rallied following comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. Draghi said the ECB is keeping a watchful eye on the euro’s recent strength for possible signs of euro zone inflation.

Elsewhere, Federal Reserve of Chicago President Charles Evans said he expects U.S. GDP to grow by 2.5% this year, but added that the unemployment rate in the world’s largest economy will still be hovering around 7% by the time 2013 draws to a close.

Oil slightly higher ahead of Chinese data points

Oil futures traded slightly higher in the early part of Friday’s Asian session as traders await some important economic data releases out of China later today.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for March delivery added 0.05% to USD95.88 per barrel in Asian trading Friday.

Oil was barely higher even after Goldman Sachs said it remains the market to remain for the remainder of the first quarter. In other news, Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said it kept production at around 9 million barrels per day last month, marking the second straight month the kingdom has only pumped at that level.

Natural gas futures tumble almost 2% after U.S. supply data

Natural gas futures fell sharply during U.S. morning hours on Thursday, after a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed natural gas supplies fell less-than-expected last week