Investing.com - Gold futures extended sharp gains during U.S. morning hours on Thursday, rising close to a two-week high, as the U.S. dollar weakened against most of its major counterparts, boosting the precious metal’s appeal.
Some technical buying also contributed to gains after prices broke above key resistance close to the USD1,445-level, retracing half of the record plunge from April 12.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,452.25 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, up 2% on the day.
Comex gold prices rose by as much as 2.1% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of USD1,454.55 a troy ounce, the strongest level since April 15.
Gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,385.70 a troy ounce, the low from April 19 and near-term resistance at USD1,457.60, the high from April 5, 2011.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.55% to trade at 82.59.
Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Official data released earlier showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, last week compared to expectations for a decrease of 4,000 to 351,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 355,000 from a previously reported increase of 352,000.
Market players now looked ahead to Friday’s U.S. data on first quarter growth to further asses the strength of the country’s economy.
Meanwhile, prices continued to draw support amid indications of surging demand for the precious metal.
The U.S. Mint has sold 196,500 troy ounces of gold coins so far in April, the highest since December 2009 and up more three-fold from the 62,000 troy ounces the Mint had sold in all of March.
Earlier in the week, the Mint said it temporarily suspended sales of its one-tenth ounce gold bullion coins after demand spiked following a 13% drop in prices in the two days through April 15.
The Mint sold 85,000 of the one-tenth ounce coins in April, the second-strongest monthly total after January.
Buying interest also improved significantly in top consumers India and China, according to local bullion dealers.
Reports of central bank buying also supported sentiment. Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan added to their gold reserves in March, according to International Monetary Fund data.
Prices of the precious metal are now down almost 25% since hitting an all-time high of USD1,920.80 an ounce in September 2011, sparking fears that gold’s bull run is coming to an end.
Comex gold fell to a 27-month low of USD1,322.25 an ounce on April 16.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery rallied 3.7% to trade at USD23.67 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery jumped 2.7% to trade at USD3.244 a pound.
Some technical buying also contributed to gains after prices broke above key resistance close to the USD1,445-level, retracing half of the record plunge from April 12.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,452.25 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, up 2% on the day.
Comex gold prices rose by as much as 2.1% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of USD1,454.55 a troy ounce, the strongest level since April 15.
Gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,385.70 a troy ounce, the low from April 19 and near-term resistance at USD1,457.60, the high from April 5, 2011.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.55% to trade at 82.59.
Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Official data released earlier showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, last week compared to expectations for a decrease of 4,000 to 351,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 355,000 from a previously reported increase of 352,000.
Market players now looked ahead to Friday’s U.S. data on first quarter growth to further asses the strength of the country’s economy.
Meanwhile, prices continued to draw support amid indications of surging demand for the precious metal.
The U.S. Mint has sold 196,500 troy ounces of gold coins so far in April, the highest since December 2009 and up more three-fold from the 62,000 troy ounces the Mint had sold in all of March.
Earlier in the week, the Mint said it temporarily suspended sales of its one-tenth ounce gold bullion coins after demand spiked following a 13% drop in prices in the two days through April 15.
The Mint sold 85,000 of the one-tenth ounce coins in April, the second-strongest monthly total after January.
Buying interest also improved significantly in top consumers India and China, according to local bullion dealers.
Reports of central bank buying also supported sentiment. Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan added to their gold reserves in March, according to International Monetary Fund data.
Prices of the precious metal are now down almost 25% since hitting an all-time high of USD1,920.80 an ounce in September 2011, sparking fears that gold’s bull run is coming to an end.
Comex gold fell to a 27-month low of USD1,322.25 an ounce on April 16.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery rallied 3.7% to trade at USD23.67 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery jumped 2.7% to trade at USD3.244 a pound.