Investing.com – Gold prices were roughly unchanged on Thursday, as dollar weakness capped downside momentum but the precious metal remained under pressure amid investor expectations of a year-end interest rate hike.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $2.61, or 0.20%, to $1,290.40 a troy ounce.
Gold futures attempted to halt the recent slump, which has seen the precious metal dip below $1,300, supported by a dip in the dollar which followed a pair of mixed economic reports.
Gross domestic product increased at a 3.1% annual rate in the April-June period, the Commerce Department said in its third estimate on Thursday, beating a previous estimate of 3%.
Fresh on the heels of the upbeat economic growth data, a labor market report showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 272,000 for the week ended Sept. 23, missing forecasts of a 10,000 increase.
A jump in investor expectations for a December rate, however, is expected to weigh on upside momentum in gold prices.
“We suspect that gold will likely remain on the defensive for a little while longer, as the market currently is in the throes of a higher dollar/higher rates backdrop,” said Edward Meir, independent commodity consultant at INTL FCStone.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in both bond yields and the U.S. dollar – A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency while a rise in U.S. rates, lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 0.23% to $16.87 a troy ounce while platinum futures lost 0.14% to $924.20.
Copper traded at $2.98, up 1.62% while natural gas fell by 1.57% to $3.01.