Gold prices surged higher on Thursday on safe-haven buying amid an escalation in tensions in the Middle East, and lingering worries about global economic slowdown and interest rates.
Gold futures for December ended higher by $12.20 or about 0.6% at $1,980.50 an ounce.
Silver futures for December ended down $0.068 at $23.031 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.6010 per pound, gaining $0.0140.
In his speech at an Economic Club of New York luncheon, Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell argued in prepared remarks that inflation is “still too high” and warned additional monetary policy tightening may be needed.
Powell noted that shorter-term measures of core inflation over the most recent three and six months are now running below 3% but cautioned these shorter-term measures are often volatile.
Powell also addressed tightening financial conditions amid a recent increase in longer-term bond yields and said the Fed remains attentive to these developments, because persistent changes in financial conditions can have implications for the path of monetary policy.
In economic releases, data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell to 198,000 in the week ended October 14th, down 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 211,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 212,000 from the 209,00 originally reported for the previous week.
A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed a notable decrease in U.S. existing home sales in the month of September. Existing home sales decreased for the fourth consecutive month, falling to their lowest level since October 2010.
A reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in the month of September, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Thursday. The Conference Board said its leading economic index slid by 0.7% in September after falling by a revised 0.5% in August.
Source: Read Full Article