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SubscribeGold futures traded higher during the U.S. afternoon session Thursday, holding on to gains after stronger-than-forecast U.S. data on durable goods orders and jobless claims.
The precious metal continued to draw support from the Federal Reserves ultra-loose monetary policy as well as some bargain buying.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,712.25 a troy ounce during U.S. afternoon trade, gaining 0.63%.
Prices rose by as much as 1.1% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD1,718.45 a troy ounce. On Wednesday, gold prices fell to USD1,699.65 a troy ounce, the cheapest level since September 7.
Gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,688.85 a troy ounce, the low from September 7 and resistance at USD1,731.25, the high from October 22.
In the U.S. official data showed that durable goods orders, which includes transportation items, jumped by a seasonally adjusted 9.9% in September, compared to expectations for a 7.1% gain.
Excluding volatile transportation items durable goods orders rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.0% last month, beating expectations for a 0.8% gain.
Separately, the Labor Department said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell to 369,000, from 392,000 the previous week, compared to expectations for a decrease to 370,000.
Also Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index rose by 0.3% in September, below expectations for a 2.1% gain.
The flurry of data came a day after the Federal Reserve announced no new measures at the end of its policy-setting meeting. In its rate statement, the central bank said the U.S. economy is improving moderately, but said job growth has been slow and the unemployment rate remains elevated.
The Fed also said it planned to keep its benchmark short-term rate close to zero through mid-2015.
The Federal Reserve said in September it will purchase an average of USD40 billion of mortgage-backed securities a month until the economy shows significant improvement.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would pump more money into the financial system.
Meanwhile, market players continued to eye developments surrounding Spain, amid ongoing uncertainty over whether the debt-strapped country is moving closer to formally requesting a bailout from its euro zone partners.
A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. But Spain has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery rallied 1.53% to trade at USD32.10 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery added 0.37% to trade at USD3.555 a pound.
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