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1st LD Writethru: Gold up on rising U.S. jobless claims

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Thursday after official data showed U.S. jobless claims rising, giving support for the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 8.6 U.S. dollars, or 0.72 percent, to settle at 1,210.10 dollars per ounce.

In the week ending Feb. 21, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits increased to 313,000, 31,000 more than the revised level of the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday. The soft jobs data bolstered gold a lot as investors tend to move their assets to a safe haven like gold when economy shows signs of faltering.

The precious metal also got a boost from a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce which showed overall consumer price inflation dropped 0.7 percent in January.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Lunar New Year often results in increased gold demand for gifts. A report from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department released on Thursday showed gold imports from Hong Kong to China climbing to 76.118 tonnes in January.

However, a stronger dollar put gold under pressure. The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, rose by 1.14 percent to 95.27. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.

Silver for May delivery rose 15 cents, or 0.91 percent, to close at 16.624 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery added 4.8 dollars, or 0.41 percent, to close at 1,173.60 dollars per ounce. Endite