Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures rose in light trading on Thursday, as the dollar moved lower after the government reported a drop in the past week's jobless claims, raising gold's appeal as an investment alternative. Gold for December delivery ended up $1.60, or 0.2%, at $947.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have been trading in small ranges this week. "Given the holidays coming up over the next two weeks, we expect the metal to remain range-bound, holding in the current $930 to $965 range," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.

In currencies trading, the dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, stood at 78.497, down from 78.660 late Wednesday. A weaker dollar tends to push up dollar-denominated gold prices. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest gold exchanged-traded fund, stood at 1,061.83 metric tons, unchanged from a day ago. See full story.