Gold futures edge higher in subdued trade
LONDON (Aug 9) Gold futures edged higher in subdued trade on Friday, as ongoing uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will soon scale back its stimulus program continued to dominate market sentiment.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,311.60 a troy ounce during European afternoon hours, adding 0.10%.
The December contract settled up 1.91%, at USD1,309.9 a troy ounce on Thursday.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,282,80 a troy ounce, the Thursday's low and resistance at USD1,330.50, the high from August 1.
Gold prices found support after the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits rose by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 333,000 last week.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 328,000, from a previously reported 326,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to increase 8,000 to 336,000 last week.
Investors have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Federal Reserve to reduce its bond purchases.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the central bank will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months.
Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto said Wednesday there has been “meaningful improvement” in the labor market and that tapering may be warranted if it continues to strengthen.
Her comments echoed similar remarks made by Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher earlier in the week.
A broadly weaker U.S. dollar also supported gains, as dollar-priced commodities become cheaper to investors holding other currencies when the greenback weakens.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery advanced 0.42% to trade at USD20.283 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery gained 0.61% to trade at USD3.290 a pound.
