Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Thursday as the U.S. dollar strengthened.
The most active gold contract for December delivery fell one U.S. dollar, or 0.05 percent, to close at 1,947.10 dollars per ounce.
Traders are waiting for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday morning at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium for additional clues regarding the direction of U.S. monetary policy.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that U.S. initial jobless claims decreased by 10,000 to 230,000 in the week ending Aug. 19. The median estimate of economists called for 240,000 applications.
In an interview with CNBC at Jackson Hole of Wyoming on Thursday, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker said he thinks the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates high enough to bring inflation down over the next few years to pre-pandemic levels of around 2 percent.
“We’ve probably done enough,” Harker said, leaning against another rate hike.
Silver for September delivery fell 16.20 cents, or 0.66 percent, to close at 24.23 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery rose 4.80 dollars, or 0.51 percent, to close at 943.00 dollars per ounce.