WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled notably higher on Thursday, buoyed by optimism about interest rate cuts and the outlook for demand from China.
The dollar's strength following fairly encouraging economic data limited the yellow metal's upside.
The dollar index climbed to 101.58 around later morning before easing to around 101.34.
While the greenback climbed up, the euro slipped after data showed Spanish inflation eased to its lowest level in a year.
Elsewhere, preliminary data showed inflation fell in six important German states in August, boosting bets on an ECB rate cut next month.
Gold futures for September ended higher by $23.10 or about 0.92% at $2,525.70 an ounce, a new record closing high.
Silver futures for September ended up by $0.356 or about 1.22% at $29.557 an ounce, while Copper futures for September dropped to $4.1460 per pound, down $0.0035 from the previous close.
In U.S. economic news, a Commerce Department report said the surge by gross domestic product in the second quarter was upwardly revised to 3% from the previously reported 2.8%. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to be unrevised.
With the upward revision, the pace of GDP growth in the second quarter showed an even faster acceleration compared to the 1.4% jump in the first quarter. The report also showed modest downward revisions to the pace of consumer price growth during the second quarter.
A separate report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly lower in the week ended August 24th.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 231,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 233,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 232,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
