Gold scores first gain in three sessions

CHICAGO, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended higher on Thursday, after statistics showed that more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, boosting investors' hope that the U.S. Federal Reserve may maintain its stimulus measures to spur economic growth.

Source from (Xinhuanet): http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-07/26/c_132574566.htm
Published: July 28, 2013


The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 9.3 dollars, or 0.70 percent, to settle at 1,328.8 dollars per ounce. Gold prices for the August contract had tallied a two-session loss of 1.2 percent, according to MarketWatch.

Market analysts said that gold trading in the day was mainly about U.S. data and the Fed, with the latest jobless numbers supporting gold prices. Statistics from the Labor Department showed that U.S. jobless claims rose by 7,000 to 343,000 in the week ended July 20, compared with market estimates of about 340, 000.

According to market reports, gold rallied 7.9 percent this month through Wednesday, heading for the biggest monthly gain since January 2012, after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said it was still too early to decide whether to begin scaling back the central bank's bond purchases in September.

The ICE dollar index slipped to 82.118 from 82.285 late on Wednesday. A weaker U.S. dollar is good for gold.

Silver for September delivery also rose 13.4 cents, or 0.67 percent, to close at 20.154 dollars per ounce.