Investing.com - Gold futures were higher on Thursday, after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting suggested the central bank is in no rush to raise interest rates.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery rose to a session high of $1,332.30 a troy ounce, before trimming gains to last trade at $1,331.00 during European morning hours, up 0.51%, or $6.70.
Gold hit $1,333.40 an ounce on Wednesday, the most since July 1, before settling at $1,324.30, up 0.59%, or $7.80.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,312.10, the low from July 7 and resistance at $1,334.90, the high from July 1.
Also on the Comex, silver for September delivery tacked on 0.8%, or 16.9 cents, to trade at $21.23 a troy ounce.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting released Wednesday showed that officials agreed to end the central bank’s asset purchase program in October.
However, the minutes revealed little new information on when the bank could start to hike rates. The central bank acknowledged that the economy is continuing to improve but officials remain divided over the outlook for inflation.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for September delivery advanced 0.22%, or 0.7 cents, to trade at $3.255 a pound.
Data released earlier showed that Chinese exports in June climbed 7.2% from a year earlier, missing expectations for a gain of 10.6%, while imports rose 5.5%, below forecasts for a 5.8% increase.
China’s trade surplus narrowed to $31.6 billion last month from a surplus of $35.92 billion in May, compared to estimates for a surplus of $35.0 billion.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption.