Gold Futures Settle Higher On The Day, But Shed More Than 3% For The Month

Gold prices climbed on Thursday thanks to bargain hunting after recent losses and a somewhat slippery dollar.

The dollar index, which climbed to 94.50 in the European session, dropped to a low of 94.11 a little before noon before subsequently emerging above the unchanged line. It is currently hovering around 94.35, up slightly from Wednesday’s close.

Gold futures for December ended higher by $34.10 or about 2% at $1,757.00 an ounce. Gold futures shed about 3.4% in September and suffered a modest 0.8% loss in the July – September quarter.

Silver futures for September ended up by $0.562 at $22.047 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $4.0890 per pound, down $0.1100 from the previous close.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier in the day that Senators have reached a deal to avoid a government shutdown on October 1.

Subsequently, the Senate passed the bill, with 65 members voting for it and 35 members disapproving. The bill now moves to the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers would approve it and send it to President Joe Biden for his signature.

A report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased for the third straight week, edging up to 363,000 in the week ended September 25th. That was an increase of 11,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 351,000. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to dip to 335,000.

Meanwhile, economic growth in the U.S. accelerated by slightly more than previously estimated in the second quarter, the Commerce Department revealed in revised data.

The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product shot up by 6.7% in the second quarter compared to the previously reported 6.6% spike. Economists had expected the jump in GDP to be unrevised.

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