WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices edged lower on Thursday as the dollar stayed steady on fairly encouraging economic data.
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book that said businesses across the United States have become less optimistic in recent months, limited the yellow metal's slide.
Lingering concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions, the partial government shutdown in the U.S. and Brexit uncertainty too helped keep gold prices close to $1,300 an ounce mark.
The dollar remained largely subdued amid speculation the Federal Reserve will pause monetary tightening soon or announce fewer rate hikes this year.
Gold futures for February settled at $1,292.30 an ounce, losing $1.50, or 0.1% from previous close.
On Wednesday, gold futures ended up $5.40, or 0.4%, at $1,293.80 an ounce, a near two-week closing high.
Silver futures for March settled at $15.536 an ounce, down $0.102 from Wednesday's close.
Copper futures for March ended at $2.680 per pound, down by $0.007 from previous close.
A report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed a significant acceleration in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of January.
The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity in the region jumped to 17.0 in January from 9.1 in December, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 10.0.
Meanwhile, a report from the Labor Department showed an unexpected decrease in first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended January 12th. The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 213,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 216,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000.
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