Gold Ends Lower After Jobless Claims Data

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended lower for a fourth straight session on Thursday, after data from the U.S. showed initial claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, fueling expectations the Federal Reserve would tone down its hawkish stand on hiking interest rates.

A dismal August jobs report has markets fearing the U.S. recovery may stall after a few months of robust growth. Nevertheless, speculation that the Federal Reserve might hike interest rates ahead of schedule and the subsequent strength in the U.S. dollar has hurt gold prices.

In some disappointing economic news, a report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial jobless claims in the U.S. unexpectedly saw some further upside in the week ended September 6.

A report showing a bigger than expected slowdown in Chinese consumer price inflation has also added to recent concerns about the outlook for the world's second largest economy.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $6.30 or 0.5 percent to close at $1,239.00 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.

Gold for December delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,251.00 and a low of $1,235.30 an ounce.

On Wednesday, gold futures ended at a three-month low on a strong dollar amid speculation of a Fed rate hike soon, even as weakness in global equities helped prevent bigger daily losses.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved higher to 788.72 tons on Thursday from its previous close of 785.72 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 84.26 on Thursday, up from its previous close of 84.20 late Wednesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 84.34 intraday and a low of 84.07.

The euro trended higher against the dollar at $1.2925 on Thursday, as compared to its previous close of $1.2917 late Wednesday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.2951 intraday and a low of $1.2898.

In economic news from the U.S., data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims to have climbed to 315,000 in the week ended August 30, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level of 304,000. Economists expected claims to decline to 300,000 from 302,000 in the previous week.

Elsewhere, inflation in China slowed more than expected in August, as producer prices declined for the 30th consecutive month, providing leeway for the implementation of additional stimulus to offset the weakness in property sector.

Consumer price inflation in China slowed to a four-month low of 2 percent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Thursday. Inflation in August was forecast to ease moderately to 2.2 percent from the 2.3 percent in July.

Markets also await the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meet scheduled to take place on September 16 - 17. It is widely expected the Federal Reserve will cut its monthly bond-buying program by $10 billion, with expectations of probable clues as to when it may hike interest rates.