Gold Finishes Above $1,100 As Dollar Slides

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Gold finished higher in an abbreviated session Thursday as the dollar continued a pullback versus the euro. The metal rose for a second straight session after hitting a seven-week high earlier in the week.

December gold finished at $1,104.10 an ounce, up $10.80 on the session. Prices hit as high as $1,105.30 and as low as $1,092.00.

Floor trading is closed tomorrow for Christmas. For the week, gold lost $5.30 an ounce. The metal had hit as low as $1,075 on Wednesday.

The dollar dipped to an eight-day low against the euro after hitting a 3 1/2-month high earlier in the week. The greenback recovered early losses and remain in a range near a two-month high against the pound.

On the economic front, a Labor Department report showed that initial jobless claims for the week fell to 452,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 480,000. Economists had been expecting a more modest decrease in jobless claims to about 470,000.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported durable goods orders edged up by 0.2 percent in November following an unrevised 0.6 percent decrease in October. Economists had been expecting a somewhat more substantial increase in orders of about 0.5 percent.

There are a few reports on next week's agenda. On Tuesday, the Conference Board's consumer confidence report is due at 10 a.m. ET. A reading of 53.0 is forecast, compared to a 49.5 in November.

Wednesday will bring the Chicago PMI report. Chicago PMI is expected to show a reading of 55.1 for December, compared to a 56.1 in November. The report will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET.

(Market News Provided by RTTNews)