2021.05.2018:57:00UTC+00Gold Futures End Slightly Higher, Extend Gains To 6th Straight Session

Gold futures settled higher on Thursday, extending gains to a sixth straight session, as the dollar drifted down against its peers.

Despite the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting saying that some members were considering discussions on tapering the bank's asset buying programs in the upcoming meetings, many analysts are of the view that the bank is unlikely to tighten its policy anytime soon.

The dollar index dropped to 89.78 today, losing nearly 0.5%.

Gold futures for June ended up by $0.40 or 0.02% at $1,881.90 an ounce, gaining for a sixth day, and recording the longest winning streak so far this year.

Silver futures for July ended up by $0.042 or nearly 0.2% at $28.067 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $4.5680 per pound, down $0.0085 or 0.2% from the previous close.

Data released by the Labor Department Thursday morning showed unemployment claims in the U.S. dropped in the week ending May 15th.

The data showed that initial unemployment claims in the U.S. fell to 444,000 last week (the lowest since the week ended March 14, when it had dropped to 256,000), down from a revised 478,000 claims in the previous week. Economists had expected unemployment claims to drop to around 450,000 in the week ending May 15th.

The Labor Department's data also showed that the number of continuing claims unexpectedly rose by 111,000 last week to 3.75 million, hitting a seven-week high.

The four-week moving average of US jobless claims, which removes week-to-week volatility, dropped to a fourteen-month low of 504,750 in the week, down from a revised 535,250 in the previous week.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index fell to 31.5 in May from 50.2 in April which was the strongest reading in nearly 50 years. Figures also came below forecasts of 43. The index of business conditions fell sharply to 52.7 in April, from 66.6.