Investing.com - Gold futures remained lower on Thursday, after data showed the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose to the highest level in five months last week, but remained in territory usually associated with a firming labor market.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 13,000 last week to 282,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to hold steady at 269,000 last week.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.4% to 97.72. Dollar-priced commodities become more expensive to investors holding other currencies when the greenback gains.
Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange shed $2.70, or 0.25%, to trade at $1,073.80 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours. On Wednesday, gold eased up $1.20, or 0.11%, in familiar trading range, as market players braced for the first U.S. rate hike since 2006 next week.
While investors widely expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its December 15-16 meeting, they anticipate the pace of increases to be gradual amid concerns over tepid growth overseas and divergent monetary policies between the U.S. and other nations.
Gold futures are down nearly 10% in 2015, the third annual loss in a row, as speculation over the timing of a Fed rate hike dominated market sentiment for most of the year. Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.
Meanwhile, silver futures for March delivery dipped 2.4 cents, or 0.17%, to trade at $14.16 a troy ounce. A day earlier, prices tacked on 7.3 cents, or 0.52%. Silver is on track to post a 9% annual decline in 2015.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper prices inched higher on Thursday, after mining giant Glencore (L:GLEN) announced wider spending cuts as the commodities group races to cut debt and shore up its balance sheet.
The Swiss-based company cut its capital expenditure for 2016 to $3.8 billion, from an earlier estimate of $5 billion.
Glencore said last month it will cut 55,000 metric tons of copper output by the end of 2017, the latest in a string of supply cuts. In September, the firm said it would reduce copper production from mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo by 400,000 tons.
The world’s biggest mining companies are reeling from the deepening rout in commodities prices this year.
Copper traders looked ahead to data on Chinese industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment for November due on Saturday for further hints on the strength of the economy.
Sluggish trade and inflation figures released this week added to concerns over the health of the world's second-biggest economy. The rate of economic growth in China slowed to 6.9% in the third quarter, according to official data, dropping below the 7% level for the first time since the global financial crisis.
The red metal is on track to post an annual decline of 29% in 2015 as fears of a China-led global economic slowdown spooked traders and rattled sentiment. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 45% of world consumption.