Investing.com - Gold prices shot on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said earlier that the monetary authority won't rule out slapping negative interest rates on commercial lenders.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were up 1.60% at USD1,469.35 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday, up from a session low of USD1,448.25 and down from a high of USD1,472.55 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,4393.75 a troy ounce, Wednesday's low, and resistance at USD1,479.15, Tuesday's high.
The ECB earlier cut interest rates to 0.50% from 0.75%, which came as no surprise to most market participants, though afterwards, Draghi said the ECB may charge banks to hold excess reserves sent the euro dropping and made gold an attractive hedge.
Negative interest rates would make gold an attractive commodity, even if investors took positions in the metal in non-interest bearing accounts.
Meanwhile in the U.S. the U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of people filing for initial jobless claims last week fell by 18,000 to 324,000, a five-year low.
Analysts were expecting the figure to come in at 345,000 claims, which allowed the dollar to post solid gains against other currencies, though gold mainly tracked news out of Europe.
Separately, official data showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 11% to USD38.8 billion in March compared to a USD43.6 billion deficit in February, as imports fell sharply.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery was up 2.44% at USD23.913 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery was up 0.84% and trading at USD3.106 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were up 1.60% at USD1,469.35 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday, up from a session low of USD1,448.25 and down from a high of USD1,472.55 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,4393.75 a troy ounce, Wednesday's low, and resistance at USD1,479.15, Tuesday's high.
The ECB earlier cut interest rates to 0.50% from 0.75%, which came as no surprise to most market participants, though afterwards, Draghi said the ECB may charge banks to hold excess reserves sent the euro dropping and made gold an attractive hedge.
Negative interest rates would make gold an attractive commodity, even if investors took positions in the metal in non-interest bearing accounts.
Meanwhile in the U.S. the U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of people filing for initial jobless claims last week fell by 18,000 to 324,000, a five-year low.
Analysts were expecting the figure to come in at 345,000 claims, which allowed the dollar to post solid gains against other currencies, though gold mainly tracked news out of Europe.
Separately, official data showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 11% to USD38.8 billion in March compared to a USD43.6 billion deficit in February, as imports fell sharply.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery was up 2.44% at USD23.913 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery was up 0.84% and trading at USD3.106 a pound.