Investing.com - Gold held small gains in Asia on Friday as investors continue to show some caution that the Fed could hold off on a widely-expected rate hike at the end of the year as data on durable goods disappointed.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up 0.06% to $1,270.20 a troy ounce. Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery dipped 0.03% to $17.633 a troy ounce. Copper futures dropped 0.18% to $2.160 a pound.
Overnight, gold prices extended overnight gains during North America's session on Thursday, after data showed that orders for U.S. manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in September.
Total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, dropped 0.1% last month, the Commerce Department said, compared to economists' expectations for a gain of 0.1%.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, rose 0.2% last month, in line with forecasts.
Durable goods excluding defense and aircrafts slumped 1.2% in September, compared to expectations for a 0.3% gain.
A separate report released at the same time showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell less than expected, but remained in territory associated with a healthy labor market.
The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits decreased by 3,000 last week to 258,000, the Department of Labor said. Analysts expected jobless claims to fall by 6,000 to 255,000 from the previous week’s total of 261,000.