WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices climbed higher on Thursday as the dollar shed ground against most of its major rivals after data showing an increase in U.S. jobless claims helped ease concerns about any aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve early next year.
The dollar index dropped to 103.78 before recovering slightly to 103.88, but was still down in negative territory, losing nearly 0.6% from the previous close.
Gold futures for February ended higher by $10.20 at $1,826.00 an ounce.
Silver futures for March ended up $0.410 at $24.250 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.8240 per pound, down $0.0185 from the previous close.
In U.S. economic news, data released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended December 24th, moving up to 225,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 216,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 222,000.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 221,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 221,250.
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