Gold lower in Asia after U.S. pop
Gold futures traded lower in the early part of Thursday’s Asian session on what appeared to be some profit-taking following a solid performance by the yellow metal in Wednesday’s U.S. session.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery fell 0.27% to USD1,469.65 per troy ounce in Asian trading Thursday after settling up 1.76% at USD1,474.25 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Wednesday.

Gold got a lift Wednesday from some decent data points from global economic powers. 
Germany's industrial output, which includes manufacturing, mining, electricity and gas concerns, shot up 1.2% in March, the largest increase in a year and defying expectations for a 0.1% decline. February’s figure was revised up 0.6% from 0.5%.

Official data released on Tuesday revealed that German factory orders climbed 2.2% in March, defying expectations for a 0.5% decline. Germany is the euro zone’s largest economy.

In U.S. economic news, the Mortgage Bankers Association said the number of mortgage applications filed in the U.S. last week rose 7% while the refinancing index increased 8%.

Gold was also bolstered by reports that imports of the yellow metal in Hong Kong and China hit all-time highs in March. Physical demand is also seen as robust in India, another of the world’s largest gold consumers.
 
Oil inches lower despite positive data
Oil futures traded slightly lower in the early part of Thursday’s Asian session despite some positive data points out Wednesday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for June delivery inched lower by 0.03% to USD96.59 per barrel in Asian trading Thursday after up 0.74% at USD96.33 a barrel on Wednesday.

Oil and other commodities were propped up by some decent data out of Germany and the U.S.

Germany's industrial output, which includes manufacturing, mining, electricity and gas concerns, shot up 1.2% in March, the largest increase in a year and defying expectations for a 0.1% decline. February’s figure was revised up 0.6% from 0.5%.

Official data released on Tuesday revealed that German factory orders climbed 2.2% in March, defying expectations for a 0.5% decline. Germany is the euro zone’s largest economy.

In U.S. economic news, the Mortgage Bankers Association said the number of mortgage applications filed in the U.S. last week rose 7% while the refinancing index increased 8%.

During Wednesday’s Asian session, data showed China’s oil imports rose 3.5% in April and have increased 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. The world’s second-largest oil consumer imported an average of 5.62 million barrels per day last month.

Elsewhere, Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board said the region in Western Canada could double its output to 3.8 million barrels per day by 2022. Canada’s oil sands region is believed to be home to the world’s third-largest reserves behind OPEC members Saudia Arabia and Venezuela.
 
Natural Gas gains as weather forecasts point to hotter temperatures
Natural gas futures gained on Monday after weather forecasts indicated seasonably warm temperatures settling in over much of the U.S. could heat up to the point that households and businesses may hike demand for air conditioning.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in June traded at USD3.982 per million British thermal units, up 1.57%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.896 and a high of USD3.987.

Temperatures are expected to rise in the Mid-Atlantic states as well as in parts of the western U.S. in the coming weeks, which sent natural gas prices rising on Wednesday.

Natural gas demand at power plants often dips during spring before rising as the weather heats up when summer approaches.

Investors also viewed the commodity as nicely priced after last week's supply data sparked a selloff.

The Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on inventories Thursday.

Early injection estimates range from 58 billion cubic feet to 91 billion cubic feet. Inventories rose by 30 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a rise of 69 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.777 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 6% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Nymex gas prices have risen sharply in recent weeks, gaining almost 30% since mid-February due to below-normal temperatures sticking around in major consuming regions across the U.S. that helped tighten the market through April.