Gold futures finished sharply higher on Thursday, whetted by the safe haven appeal of the bullion after US jobless claims rose by 28,000 to 261,000, up from the previous week's revised estimate of 233,000 claims. The disappointing jobs data spurred woes over global economic health and bets on potential pause in interest rate hike by Federal Reserve also supported yellow metal investments. Meanwhile, participants awaited for US inflation data due on Tuesday and Wednesday’s Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.
Gold futures for August delivery rose by $20.20 or 1% to settle at $1978.60 ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile. While, spot gold slipped by $1.12 or 0.06% to $1,964.34 per ounce.