WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices climbed higher on Thursday as the dollar eased and bond yields dropped a bit after the latest batch of economic data from the U.S. supported hopes the Federal Reserve will likely announce a rate cut in June.
The dollar index dropped to 104.18 after data from the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. slid in the month of January.
Gold futures for April ended higher by $10.60 at $2,014.90 an ounce.
Silver futures for March ended up $0.564 at $22.951 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.7580 per pound, gaining $0.0580.
The Commerce Department report said retail sales slid by 0.8% in January after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.4% in December. Economists had expected retail sales to edge down by 0.1% compared to the 0.6% increase originally reported for the previous month.
A report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower in the month of January.
The Fed said industrial production slipped by 0.1% in January compared to economist estimates for a 0.3% increase.
The Labor Department released a report showing an unexpected decline in first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended February 10th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 212,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department also released a separate report this morning showing an unexpected increase U.S. import prices in the month of January.
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