Investing.com - Gold prices rose to 14-month highs in European morning hours on Friday, as a weaker U.S. dollar and uncertainty caused by the Bank of Japan’s decision to leave its monetary policy unchanged supported the precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were up 0.76% at $1,276.10.
The June contract ended Thursday's session 1.28% higher at $1,266.40 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,238.50, Thursday’s low and resistance at $1,303.50.
Safe-haven demand strengthened after the BoJ chose on Thursday to hold its monetary policy, defying market expectations for additional monetary easing.
The BoJ kept the deposit rate at minus 0.1% and its asset purchases at ¥80 trillion per year. It also pushed back the expected data for reaching its 2% inflation target.
The decision came a day after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged close to zero on Wednesday and offered little guidance on future rate hikes.
Market participants were looking ahead to U.S. data on employment costs, personal spending and consumer sentiment due later Friday, for further indications on the strength of the economy after data on Thursday painted a mixed picture, dampening demand for the greenback.
The Bureau of Economic Analaysis said on Thursday that U.S. economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 0.5%, from the 1.4% expansion registered in the fourth quarter of 2015. That was the slowest pace of growth since the first quarter of 2014.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 23 decreased by 9,000 to 257,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 12,000 to 260,000 last week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.34% at 93.41, the lowest since August 2015.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for May delivery rallied 0.95% to $17.725 a troy ounce, while copper futures for July delivery climbed 0.87% to $2.250 a pound.