Gold futures traded higher in European markets on Thursday, as investors anticipated the release of two important U.S. data reports.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.20, or 0.1%, to trade higher at $1,243.00 a troy ounce by 4:05AM ET. In the previous session, the yellow metal rose 0.89%, tacking on $11.00.
Analysts say investors will be looking at service sector numbers for clues on the health of the world’s largest economy to see if it can withstand further rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year.
The weekly report on initial jobless claims will be made public at 8:30AM ET. It will be followed by the release of the U.S. Institute of Supply Management’s February report on service sector growth at 10:00AM ET.
Rob Kaplan, Dallas Fed President, is also slated to speak about the economy and monetary policy at 10:45AM ET.
Trading price for the precious metal climbed to a one-year high of $1,263.90 on February 11 after oil prices hit below $30 a barrel. Gold prices have been up roughly 17% this year as investors run to safe haven assets for relief.
In related metals trading, silver futures for March delivery lost 4.8 cents, or 0.32%, to trade lower at $14.95 a troy ounce, while copper futures tacked 0.2 cents, or 0.09%, to trade at $2.183 a pound.
Copper price surged to 3-month highs of $2.200 on Wednesday amid hopes of further stimulus from Asian and European central banks.