Investing.com - Gold futures edged up on Friday, but still remained within close distance of six-week lows as Thursday's data showing that U.S. unemployment benefits remained near a post-recession bottom last week continued to weigh.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded at $1,285.40 a troy ounce during European morning trade, adding 0.20%.
The December contract settled 1.09% lower on Thursday to end at $1,282.8 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,276.20 an ounce, the low from June 19 and resistance at $1,298.80, Thursday's high.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 23,000 last week to 302,000 from the previous week’s total of 279,000, which was the lowest in 14 years.
The four-week moving average was 297,250, the first time the monthly average has fallen below 300,000 since April 2006 and reflects an eight-year low.
The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
The report came a day after official data showed that the U.S. economy rebounded more strongly than expected in the second quarter, fuelling speculation over the timing of a possible U.S. rate hike.
Market participants were now eyeing the upcoming U.S. jobs report for July, which was expected to indicate that the recovery in the labor market is continuing.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery edged up 0.08% to trade at $20.428 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery gained 0.62% to trade at $3.249 a pound.