CHICAGO, March 7 (Xinhua) — Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Thursday as the U.S. dollar weakened.
The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 7.00 U.S. dollars, or 0.32 percent, to close at 2,165.20 dollars per ounce.
In his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. “economy is growing at a healthy, sustainable, solid, strong pace.”
He said it’s likely the Fed will cut interest rates this year, but central bank officials are waiting to become more confident that inflation is moving sustainably at 2 percent.
Powell’s dovish remarks kept boosting gold.
Economic data released Thursday were flat. The U.S. Labor Department reported that U.S. unemployment claims for the week ending March 2 were 217,000, matching the previous week’s revised level.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that the productivity of American workers rose at a 3.2-percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, unrevised from the preliminary report last month.
U.S. February jobs report will be released on Friday.
Silver for May delivery rose 8.50 cents, or 0.35 percent, to close at 24.578 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery rose 9.00 dollars, or 0.98 percent, to close at 923.40 dollars per ounce.
Source Agencies
