Gold Firms On Economic Worries, Stimulus Hopes

U.S. gold futures were 0.5% higher at $1,959.

“Virus concerns are still weighing down on economic recovery and when you look at a lot of economic data it looks like it’s moderating but there is still tremendous damage,” said Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at broker OANDA. “There’s still going to be need for more support.”

The weekly jobless claims report from the U.S. Labor Department showed nearly 30 million people were on unemployment benefits at the end of August, laying bare the continuing economic and human devastation from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday vowed to keep interest rates near zero for a long time, noting that the pandemic “will continue to weigh on economic activity” in the near term.