Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures settled higher on Thursday, hitting a seven-week high as initial claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly climbed and as two other indicators of economic activity underscored a slowdown in U.S. growth. Gold for December delivery added $4, or 0.3%, to $1,235.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices hit an intraday high of $1,239.50 an ounce, but came off highs as the dollar strengthened.

"With the dollar moving higher, gold had a harder time rallying substantially," said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior strategist with Lind-Waldock in Chicago. But as investors get close to the end of the week, they may feel more inclined to flock to the safety of gold, he said. Prices had picked up steam after the Labor Department's report on first-time jobless filings and moved even higher after the Philly Fed index and the Conference Board's gauge of leading economic indicators showed the U.S. set to grow at a slower pace than earlier this year. See full story.