WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices climbed higher on Thursday as the dollar shed ground ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.
The dollar index dropped to 104.19 before recovering to 104.39, but still remained well below the flat line, losing nearly 0.7%.
Gold futures for November closed up $30.80 or about 1.15% at $2,698.40 an ounce.
Silver futures for November settled at $31.675 an ounce, gaining $0.544 or about 1.75%, while Copper futures for November rallied to $4.4070 per pound, rising $0.1845 or about 4.4%.
The Fed is expected to lower rates by 25 basis points. The focus will be on the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for future rate cuts.
Ahead of the announcement, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is indicating a 66.4% chance the Fed will cut rates by another 25 basis points in December but a 31.8% chance rates will be left unchanged.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Labor Department showed a modest rebound by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 2nd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims crept up to 221,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 218,000.
The uptick came a week after jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.
The Labor Department also released a separate report showing labor productivity surged by slightly less than expected in the third quarter, while unit labor costs jumped by much more than expected.
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