Open interest in gold futures markets dropped for the first time since October 16 on Thursday, this time by around 1.4K contracts according to preliminary readings from CME Group. Volume followed suit and shrank by around 24.7K contracts, keeping the erratic performance well in place.

Gold: A move to $2000 looms closer

Gold prices extended further its monthly recovery on Thursday. The daily uptick, however, was on the back of diminishing open interest and volume and hints at the probability of a corrective move in the very near term. In the longer run, the precious metal continues to target the critical hurdle at $2000 per troy ounce.