Investing.com – Gold futures pared gains on Thursday, after official data showed that U.S. first time jobless claims fell to a three-month low last week, while markets awaited a key vote on a plan to raise the U.S. debt ceiling ahead of the looming August 2 deadline.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,615.55 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, easing up 0.04%.
It earlier rose as much as 0.39% to trade a daily high of USD1,621.45 a troy ounce. On Wednesday, gold prices rose to a record high USD1,629.85 a troy ounce.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 22 fell by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 398,000, beating expectations for a drop to 412,000.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives was to vote on a debt-limit increase plan, proposed by House Speaker John Boehner later Thursday. However, President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill and a majority of the Democratic-controlled Senate has vowed to vote against it.
Ratings agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch’s have said they will cut the U.S.’s top-level credit rating in the event that a failure to raise the debt ceiling results in a default.
Global financial service provider UBS said in a report earlier that, “Positive sentiment towards gold should remain intact as long as the U.S. debt ceiling issue is unresolved.”
“But with prices near record highs investors could become increasingly cautious about jumping into the market, particularly given gold's current hypersensitivity to headline risk," the lender added.
A stronger dollar also weighed, as the greenback erased early losses against the euro amid fears over sovereign debt contagion in the single currency bloc.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.24% to trade at 74.45, the highest since July 22.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery slipped 0.2% to trade at USD40.18 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery added 0.4% to trade at USD4.454 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,615.55 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, easing up 0.04%.
It earlier rose as much as 0.39% to trade a daily high of USD1,621.45 a troy ounce. On Wednesday, gold prices rose to a record high USD1,629.85 a troy ounce.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 22 fell by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 398,000, beating expectations for a drop to 412,000.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives was to vote on a debt-limit increase plan, proposed by House Speaker John Boehner later Thursday. However, President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill and a majority of the Democratic-controlled Senate has vowed to vote against it.
Ratings agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch’s have said they will cut the U.S.’s top-level credit rating in the event that a failure to raise the debt ceiling results in a default.
Global financial service provider UBS said in a report earlier that, “Positive sentiment towards gold should remain intact as long as the U.S. debt ceiling issue is unresolved.”
“But with prices near record highs investors could become increasingly cautious about jumping into the market, particularly given gold's current hypersensitivity to headline risk," the lender added.
A stronger dollar also weighed, as the greenback erased early losses against the euro amid fears over sovereign debt contagion in the single currency bloc.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.24% to trade at 74.45, the highest since July 22.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery slipped 0.2% to trade at USD40.18 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery added 0.4% to trade at USD4.454 a pound.