Gold rebounds in post-Christmas trade

New York (Dec 26)   Gold and silver futures added to gains on Thursday after a larger-than-expected drop in weekly U.S. jobless claims.

February gold futures to trade at $1,212.90 an ounce in thin trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Silver futures   surged 40 cents, or more than 2%, to $19.88 an ounce.

First-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 42,000 to 338,000 in the week ended Dec. 21, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had produced a consensus forecast for weekly claims of 345,000. Claims data in December, however, are often subject to big swings due to difficult seasonal adjustments, economists note.

Overall activity is expected to remain quiet. U.S. markets were closed Wednesday for Christmas Day and most European markets remained closed on Thursday. Activity in Asia was also light.

Industrial metals have found support on expectations for a strengthening U.S. economy. January platinum rose $26.70 an ounce, or 2%, to $1,363.20. March palladium  gained $5.55, or 0.8%, to $701 an ounce.

March high-grade copper futures   rose a penny, or 0.3%, to $3.38 a pound.