WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices drifted lower on Thursday, as positive comments from the U.S. and Iran about resuming trade talks prompted investors to go for riskier assets such as equities.
Rising bond yields and a strong dollar too contributed to the decline of the yellow metal.
The dollar index rose to 98.55 gaining nearly 0.4%.
Gold futures for December ended down $12.20, or 0.8%, at $1,536.90, the lowest level in a week.
On Thursday, gold futures ended down $2.70, or about 0.2%, at $1,549.10 an ounce.
Silver futures for December ended down $0.133 at $18.323 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.5775 per pound, up $0.0130 from previous close.
In trade news, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng indicated China does not currently intend to retaliate against President Donald Trump's latest threat to raise the rate of tariffs on Chinese imports.
Gao claimed China has plenty of countermeasures it could impose but will instead focus on removing Trump's new tariffs, which were announced after China said it plans to impose tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods.
'The most important thing at the moment is to create necessary conditions for both sides to continue negotiations,' Gao told reporters during a weekly briefing.
U.S. President told Fox News the U.S. and China are scheduled to hold talks later today at a 'different level,' although he did not clarify what that means.
In economic news, Labor Department released a report showing a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 24th.
The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 215,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 211,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 215,000 from the 209,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed the pace of growth in U.S. economic activity slowed by slightly more than initially estimated in the second quarter.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased by 2% in the second quarter compared to the previously reported 2.1% growth. The downward revision came in line with economist estimates.
The downwardly revised GDP growth seen in the second quarter compares to the 3.1% jump in GDP reported for the first quarter.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors also released a report showing a sharp pullback in pending home sales in the month of July.
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