Investing.com – Gold prices jumped to two-month highs Thursday, as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and North Korea remained while a duo of disappointing U.S. economic reports weighed on the dollar, lifting demand for the precious metal.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $11.41, or 0.89%, to $1,290.69 a troy ounce.
Risk aversion continued for the second day in a row, lifting demand for the safe-haven gold, a day after North Korea said it was "carefully examining" a plan to strike Guam, where a U.S. military base is located.
The release of inflation and initial jobless claims data failed to offset the flight to safety as both reports undershot expectations, stoking uncertainty over the Fed’s ability to raise rates later this year.
The producer-price index fell 0.1% in July, the Labor Department said Thursday, the first drop since last August. The core rate, which excludes volatile categories of food, energy and trade, was flat in the month.
Meanwhile, initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000 for the week ended August 5, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Economists had forecast claims falling to 240,000.
New York Fed President William Dudley, however, suggested Thursday, the central bank was on track to raise interest rates once more and begin shedding some bond holdings this year.
"Our outlook anticipates a continued moderate growth trend, with some further strengthening in the labor market and an increase in inflation over the medium term toward our objective of 2 percent," Dudley said in prepared remarks that did not specifically mention monetary policy.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 1.01% to $17.034 while platinum futures rose by 0.92% to $985.10
Copper traded at $2.904, down 0.79%, while natural gas, tacked on 3.50% to $2.984.