- U.S. initial jobless claims dip for week ended Dec. 25
- Gold on track for worst year since 2015, down about 5%
Dec 30 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up in thin trade on Thursday, giving up earlier losses as the U.S. treasury yields eased from one-month highs, offsetting pressure from a firm dollar.
Spot gold was last up 0.2% to $1,807.06 per ounce by 10:42 a.m. EDT (1541 GMT), while U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,807.90.
"We're in an extremely low volume holiday-type trading. I think gold is comfortable right around either side of $1,800," said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
Gold prices could find more of a direction with volumes expected to pick up into next week, Streible added.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields dipped from one-month highs with no major catalysts to drive market direction and many traders out before the New Year's holiday, which reduced the opportunity cost of holding bullion which pays no interest.
Gold prices are down about 5% so far this year, on track for its biggest fall since 2015 as economies recovered from the impact of the pandemic, reducing demand for safe-haven bullion.
Prices hit a one-month high on Tuesday but slipped to a one-week low in the next session.
The back and forth seen over the last two days is less to do with any fundamental catalyst and is more an example of the market being very thin, meaning volatility is amplified, DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak said.
Limiting bullion's gains, U.S. stocks rebounded on renewed risk appetite as a drop in weekly jobless claims allayed fears over the economic damage from a rampant surge in COVID-19 infections in the United States.
Spot silver gained 0.9% to $23.01 an ounce, platinum was up 0.1% to $968.76, and palladium climbed 1.4% to $2,009.88.
Reporting by Kavya Guduru and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams
Source: Reuters