Investing.com - Gold and silver prices trimmed losses on Thursday, after data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell less than expected, while consumer price inflation in the U.S. rose in line with expectations in January.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded in a range between $1,307.70 a troy ounce and $1,317.50 an ounce.
Gold prices last traded at $1,316.20 an ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.3%. Futures ended Wednesday’s session down 0.3%, or $4.00, to settle at USD1,320.40 an ounce.
Prices were likely to find support at $1,299.90 a troy ounce, the low from February 14 and resistance at $1,332.40, the high from February 18.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery held in a range between $21.40 a troy ounce and $21.72 an ounce. Prices last traded at $21.70 an ounce, down 0.65%.
The March contract shed 0.22% to settle at USD21.85 an ounce on Wednesday.
Silver futures were likely to find support at $21.31 a troy ounce, the low from February 18 and resistance at $21.98, the high from February 18.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending February 15 fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000 from the previous week’s total of 339,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall by 4,000 to 335,000 last week.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended February 8 rose to 2.981 million from 2.944 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to increase to 2.970 million.
A separate report showed that consumer prices rose by as a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, matching forecasts, after rising 0.2% in December.
Year-over-year, consumer prices rose at an annualized rate of 1.6% in January, in line with expectations and up from 1.5% in December.
Consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, meeting estimates. Core consumer prices rose 0.1% in December.
Core CPI increased at annualized rate of 1.6% in January, down from 1.7% in December and in line with expectations.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting published Wednesday indicated that the central bank will maintain the current pace of reductions to its stimulus program, as long as the economy continues to improve as expected.
Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery dropped 0.4% to trade at $3.273 a pound.
Data released earlier showed that China’s HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index fell to a seven-month low of 48.3 in February from a final reading of 49.5 in January, further suggesting that the world's second-largest economy may be facing a slowdown.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.