On Friday gold prices were little changed during European morning trade,
as the greenback began to recover from the previous session's downbeat U.S.
economic reports.
Markets now eye additional U.S. data due later in
the day.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were steady at $1,194.10.
The June contract ended Thursday's session 0.62% higher at $1,194.30 an ounce. Futures were likely to find support at $1,178.20, the low from March 31 and resistance at $1,204.40, the high from April 22.
Silver futures for May delivery edged up 0.10% to $15.845 a troy ounce, while copper futures for May delivery added 0.07% to $2.696 a pound.
The greenback started to recover from losses it suffered on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Labor said the amount of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 18 increased by 1,000 to 295,000 from the previous week’s total of 294,000.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 4,000 to 290,000 last week.
Data also showed that U.S. new home sales dropped 11.4% last month to 481,000 units after a revised 5.6% increase to 541,000 in February. Analysts had expected new home sales to fall 5.3% to 513,000 units in March.
Market participants were now eyeing data on U.S. durable goods orders, due later in the day, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
