Investing.com - Gold prices rose to a fresh one-year peak on Thursday, after the release of disappointing U.S. unemployment claims data and the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged.
Comex gold futures were up by $8.87 or about 0.66% at $1,347.94 a troy ounce by 08:45 a.m. ET (12:45 GMT), just off a fresh one-year high of $1,351.65 hit earlier.
The precious metal benefited from a weaker U.S. dollar after the U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims rose more than expected to 298,000 last week.
Sentiment on the greenback was already fragile after Federal Reserve official Lael Brainard said on Tuesday that the central bank should delay raising interest rates until it is confident inflation that is now "well short" of target will rebound.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.52% at 91.71, the lowest since August 29.
Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A weaker dollar makes gold less expensive for holders of foreign currency.
The precious metal had weakened on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump concluded a surprise deal with Democrats in Congress to extend the debt ceiling, providing government funding until December 15 and potentially avoiding an unprecedented default on U.S. government debt.
Elsewhere, the ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, in a widely expected move, and made no changes to its monetary policy statement.
Commenting on the decision, ECB President Mario Draghi said that the central bank's outlook for growth and inflation in the euro area remained broadly unchanged.
He added that recent euro volatility was a source of uncertainty and that the ECB will decide on the calibration of policy measures in the autumn.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures gained 13 cents or about 0.73% to $18.04 a troy ounce.