WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled at near 6-month high on Thursday, as the dollar declined to a one-month low and equities continued to exhibit weakness amid concerns about slowing global economy.
With recent data from Asia and Europe raising concerns about global growth outlook, the yellow metal has been gradually gaining in strength despite seeing mild bouts of weakness at times.
The dollar index dropped to a low of 95.65, losing about 0.85%, before recovering some lost ground.
Gold futures for February ended up $11.50, or 0.9%, at $1,267.90, the highest settlement since June 25, 2018.
On Wednesday, gold futures ended with a gain of $2.80, or 0.2%, at $1,256.40 an ounce.
Silver futures for March settled at $14.869 an ounce, up $0.051 from previous close of $14.818 an ounce.
Stocks plunged once again on Wall Street amid rising concerns about growth. The Dow declined by nearly 2.5%, the S&P 500 shed about 2% and the Nasdaq Composite declined by 2.3%.
Disappointing economic data from China and Europe continue to weigh on stocks.
In U.S. economic news, a report from the Labor Department showed initial a jobless claims rebounded in the week ended December 15th.
According to the report, initial jobless claims rose to 214,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 206,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to climb 216,000.
Meanwhile, traders continued to stay skeptical about the U.S. and China agreeing on a long term trade deal before the expiry of the 90-day truce.
Worries about bitter relationship between the two countries have increased following the U.S. Justice Department charging two Chinese nationals in a global hacking scheme to steal business secrets, allegedly acting in association with the Chinese Ministry of State Security's Tianjin State Security forces.
'The indictment alleges that the defendants were part of a group that hacked computers in at least a dozen countries and gave China's intelligence service access to sensitive business information,' said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
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