2020.04.0910:57:00UTC+00Gold Up Over 1% As Dollar Steadies

Gold prices rose over 1 percent on Thursday and the dollar steadied as investors await U.S. labor market data later today expected to show weekly jobless claims near record highs.

Spot gold rose a little over 1 percent to $1,662.12 per ounce, resuming its march toward a near one-month peak scaled on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures climbed 1.3 percent to $1,706.20.

Economists are forecasting weekly jobless claims of 5.25 million, which would mean claims over just three weeks totaled a staggering 15 million.

Meanwhile, coronavirus worries persist despite a "flattening off" of cases in the past week.

New York, the hardest-hit state in America, on Wednesday reported its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths ,779, in a single day for an overall death toll of almost 6,300.

The United States recorded nearly 2,000 fatalities for the second straight day, while in Britain the daily death toll hit a record 938 in one day.

Spain reported 683 daily coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, a lower number of fatalities compared to the previous two days.

Meanwhile, after spending a third night in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a London hospital, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making steady progress, Downing Street said.