Gold rises on weak U.S. dollar

CHICAGO, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Thursday as the U.S. dollar weakened.

The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 7.20 U.S. dollars, or 0.35 percent, to close at 2,050.00 dollars per ounce.

The Federal Reserve's dovish switch for 2024, as revealed by the minutes of the Fed's December monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, as well as fears over the spread of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, also supported gold.

Economic data released Thursday were mixed. The Automated Data Processing Inc. reported that U.S. private sector employment rose by 164,000 jobs in December 2023, significantly above November's revised 101,000 figure.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that new applications for U.S. unemployment benefits decreased to 202,000 in the week ending Dec. 30, lower than the 216,000 predicted by economists and 218,000 reported in the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted final S&P Global U.S. Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) Business Activity Index posted 51.4 in December, up from 50.8 in November and broadly in line with the earlier released flash estimate of 51.3.

U.S. December jobs report is scheduled on Friday.

Silver for March delivery rose 3.00 cents, or 0.13 percent, to close at 23.187 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery fell 20.80 dollars, or 2.11 percent, to close at 966.30 dollars per ounce.