Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures fell Thursday, as a dip in U.S. jobless claims helped to dull investment demand for the precious metal, and the dollar hovered near session lows. Gold for August delivery, the most active contract, declined $10.50, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,532.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, it had traded as high as $1,545.50 an ounce. Meanwhile, silver�s July contract tumbled $1.49, or 4%, to $36.20 an ounce. Losses for crude-oil futures and base metals �kicked the stool out of gold and silver,� said Jim Steel, a precious-metals analyst with HSBC in New York.

Traders worried that silver demand, especially for industrial uses, could soften along with the global economy, he added. Earlier in the session, the Labor Department said first-time applications for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, as 422,000 people nationwide filed claims. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a decline to 418,000. Weekly applications for benefits usually fall well below 400,000 when the economy is strong and companies are hiring rapidly. See full story.