Investing.com - Gold prices trimmed gains on Thursday, but the precious metal remained within close distance of a four-month peak as the U.S. dollar remained under pressure despite the release of upbeat U.S. jobless claims data.
Comex gold futures were up 0.16% at $1,359.00 a troy ounce by 08:35 a.m. ET (12:35 GMT), the highest since since September.
The U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims increased by 17,000 to 233,000 in the week ending January 20, compared to expectations for an increase to 236,000.
The greenback remained under broad selling pressure after White House officials on Tuesday said that President Trump was planning on using his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday to underline his "America First" policies.
Such policies include a potential withdrawal from the North American free-trade agreement and disavowing the global climate change accord.
The U.S. dollar was also hit after, in Davos on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said that the weaker dollar was positive for American trade.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.28% at a fresh three-year low of 88.76.
Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A weaker dollar makes gold less expensive for holders of foreign currency.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures gained 0.35% to $17.55 a troy ounce.