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Gold futures settled higher on Thursday as the dollar stayed a bit subdued and Treasury yields dipped after climbing up on Wednesday on rate outlook jitters.
The dollar recovered after trading weak during Asian and European sessions. After rising to 103.63, the dollar index eased a bit to 103.56, up nearly 0.1% from the previous close.
Gold futures for February ended higher by $15.10 at $2,021.60 an ounce, rebounding after posting losses in the previous two sessions.
Silver futures for March ended up $0.138 at $22.807 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.7450 per pound, gaining $0.0120.
"Traders have slightly pared back expectations for rate cuts this year compared with the end of 2023 which has weighed on the yellow metal and could continue to do so if the data doesn't perform," says Craig Erland, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA, UK & EMEA. He adds that a move below $2,000 could be a significant psychological blow but as things stand, the trend and momentum aren't looking particularly favorable.
A report from the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 187,000 in the week ended January 13th, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level of 203,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 207,000 from the 202,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected decline, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 182,000 in the week ended September 24, 2022.
A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed regional manufacturing activity contracted at a slightly slower rate in the month of January.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity rose to a negative 10.6 in January from a revised reading of negative 12.8 in December. Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 7.0 from the negative 10.5 originally reported for the previous month.
Data from the Commerce Department showed housing starts slumped by 4.3% to an annual rate of 1.460 million in December.
