Gold was little changed on Thursday, traded below $1300 an ounce following its drop over the previous two sessions, after data showing improvement in the world’s biggest economy dented the metal’s appeal as a safe haven asset.
A report released yesterday signaled the U.S. economy expanded 4.0 percent in the second quarter from a revised of 2.1 drop percent in the first quarter.
The data followed a parade of optimistic data showing that recovery is gathering momentum.
Later in the day, eyes will focus on initial jobless claims for last week, as it will provide some clues about the U.S. labor market before tomorrow’s non-farm payrolls figures.
However, Fed statement released on Wednesday revealed that slack in the labor market persisted and pledged to keep interest rate at its current low level for a considerable time after the full withdrawal of asset purchases.
“A range of labor-market indicators suggests that there remains significant underutilization of labor resources,” the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said today in a statement in Washington.
The Federal Open Market Committee decided to taper monthly bond buying to $25 billion in the sixth straight $10-billion cut, on course to end the purchase program in October.
The shiny metal could not take advantage of the escalating tensions in Ukraine and Gaza as many investors preferred to move their many from non-interest assets such as gold.
Gold is currently trading around $1294.76 after touching a high of $1296.08 and a low of $1291.19.
The yellow metal posted its second weekly loss last week, while set for a monthly drop in July, where it has lost so far more than 2.4 percent.
Crude Oil for September’s delivery dipped to touch a low of $99.08, compared with the session’s opening of $99.63.