Gold Futures Recover After Early Weakness, Settle Notably Higher

Gold prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, despite the dollar’s rebound from recent losses.

Gold found some safe-haven support as equities drifted lower in European and the U.S. markets amid concerns about inflation and the economic impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The dollar index climbed to 98.36, gaining nearly 0.6%, before paring some gains.

Gold futures for June ended higher by $15.00 or about 0.8% at $1,954.00 an ounce, after having dropped to a low of $1,923.00 in the Asian session.

Gold prices were weak earlier in the day, as reports about the U.S. government’s plan to dip into strategic oil reserves to stem the surge in crude oil prices helped ease concerns about inflation and slightly dented the yellow metal’s safe-haven appeal.

Silver futures for May ended up by $0.020 at $25.133 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $4.7510 per pound, up $0.005 from the previous close.

Data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims edged up to 202,000 in the week ended March 26th, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 188,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 197,000 from the 187,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Commerce Department also released a report showing personal income in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of February.

The report showed personal income rose by 0.5% in February after inching up by a revised 0.1% in January. Economists had expected personal income to climb by 0.5% compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal spending edged up by 0.2% in February after surging by an upwardly revised 2.7% in January. Personal spending was expected to increase by 0.5% compared to the 2.1% jump originally reported for the previous month.

A reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve showed the annual rate of core consumer price growth accelerated to 5.4% in February from 5.2% in January.

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