2008.12.2413:17:00UTC+00Gold Finishes Abbreviated Session Higher

Gold was finished a short trading day higher on light volume. February gold moved to $847.10, up $9 on the day. The metal reached as high as $849.60.

The dollar was little-changed against the euro near 1.3970 after paring early losses. The greenback was also flat with the pound and yen. Gold usually moves opposite the dollar because of the precious metal's hedge appeal.

There were several key economic reports to digest on Wednesday. A Commerce Department report showed that orders for durable goods fell by 1.0 percent in November following a revised 8.4 percent decrease in October. Economists had expected orders to fall by 3.1 percent compared to the 6.2 percent drop that had been reported for the previous month.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that personal spending fell 0.6 percent in November following an unrevised 1.0 percent decrease in October. Economists had been expecting a slightly larger decrease in spending of about 0.8 percent.

Additionally, the report said that personal income slipped 0.2 percent in November after edging up by a revised 0.1 percent in the previous month. Economists expected income to be unchanged compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for October.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said that initial jobless claims in the week ended December 20th rose to 586,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 556,000. Economists had expected claims to edge up to 558,000 from the 554,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Gold dropped on Tuesday amid light trading to return its modest gains from the previous session. February gold finished at $838.10, down $9.10 for the day. The metal traded as high as $849.80 and as low as $829.80.

Copyright(c) 2008 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved