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1st LD Writethru: Gold up on weaker U.S. equities

Xinhua, March 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Thursday as U.S. equities fell, despite positive U.S. data.

The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 16.4 U.S. dollars, or 1.32 percent, to settle at 1,258.20 dollars per ounce.

Despite mostly positive U.S. data, the precious metal gained support as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 9 points, or 0.05 as of 18:05 GMT. Analysts noted that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.

Gold was given support as a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed initial claims jobless claims rising by 6,000 to a 278,000 level during the week ending on Feb. 27, but analysts note that the four-week average has fallen by 1,750 to a 270,250 level, which signals the potential for a strong jobs report, which is due to be released on Friday.

Analysts believe that traders are still nervous over the potential for volatility in the energy sector, but the U.S. economy are stabilizing as increasingly good U.S. data comes in, dampening the demand for gold as a safe haven.

Silver for May delivery rose 12.4 cents, or 0.83 percent, to close at 15.146 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery added 6.5 dollars, or 0.69 percent, to close at 942.70 dollars per ounce. Enditem