Investing.com - Bottom fishers snapped up nicely priced positions in gold on Friday, sending the commodity posting solid gains after upbeat U.S. data sent the precious metal falling too far.
Mounting tensions in Ukraine as well as Gaza also sent gold prices rising due to its safe-haven appeal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at 1,303.30 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, up 0.97%, up from a session low of $1,291.20 and off a high of $1,303.70.
The August contract settled down 1.07% at $1,290.80 on Thursday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,287.50 a troy ounce, Thursday's low, and resistance at $1,319.00, Monday's high.
Rising tensions in Ukraine sent gold prices rising on Friday.
The Pentagon said earlier that Russia may be set to provide more sophisticated weapons to Ukrainian separatists, which spooked investors, sending them to gold in search of safety.
Israel, meanwhile, rejected calls for a ceasefire and continued its ground offensive in Gaza, which also bolstered gold.
Separately, a spate of upbeat U.S. indicators sent gold prices falling to levels ripe for profit taking.
Earlier Friday, the Census Bureau reported earlier that U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.7% in June, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain, after declining of 1% in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.9% contraction.
Core durable goods orders, which are stripped of transportation items, grew 0.8% in June, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain, after a 0.1% downtick in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated flat reading.
The data came a day after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 19 declined by 19,000 to 284,000, defying market forecasts for claims to rise by 5,000.
The data primed market expectations for the Federal Reserve to wind down its bond-buying stimulus program around October and raise interest rates in 2015, which would reduce the need for gold for use as a hedge against loose monetary policy.
Meanwhile, silver for September delivery was up 0.99% at $20.618 a troy ounce, while copper futures for September delivery were down 0.74% at $3.242 a pound.