Daily Gold Update

Source: MarketWatch

New York— Gold futures rose Thursday for the first session in three, rebounding to above $900 on ounce as gloomy economic news in the U.S. triggered safe-haven buying, while weaker crude oil and stocks limited gold's gains. Gold for February delivery was last up $12.90, or 1.5%, to $901.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold had lost about $20 in the previous two sessions since it closed at a four-month high of $908.80 on Monday.

Unemployment lines in the U.S. stretched to the longest on record, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Continuing jobless claims rose by 159,000 in the week ended Jan. 17 to a seasonally adjusted 4.78 million, the most since the government's records began in 1967. Meanwhile, orders for U.S.-made durable goods fell for a fifth straight month, down 2.6% in December on weaker demand for almost all products except defense-related items, the Commerce Department reported. Sales of new homes plummeted to a record low in December, the Commerce Department estimated Thursday. Sales fell 14.7% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 331,000. This is the lowest level since the series began in 1963. See full story.