2020.07.0218:49:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Modestly Higher

Gold prices moved higher on Thursday amid continued safe-have demand due to rising new coronavirus infections in several parts of the world.

Data showing a stronger than expected increase in U.S. employment in the month of June limited the yellow metal's uptick.

The dollar's early weakness supported gold's rise. The dollar index, which was down at 96.81 in the Asian session, rose to 97.34 by noon, and was last seen at 97.28, up marginally from previous close.

Gold futures for August ended up $10.10 or about 0.6% at $1,790.00 an ounce.

Gold futures gained about 0.5% in the week.

Silver futures for September ended up $0.104 at $18.322 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $2.7485 per pound, gaining $0.0145 for the session.

Due to a holiday for Independence Day, there will be no regular trading or settlement for commodities on Friday.

Data from U.S. Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment skyrocketed by 4.8 million jobs in June after soaring by an upwardly revised 2.7 million jobs in May further bolstered sentiment. Economists had expected employment to surge up by about 3.0 million jobs compared to the spike of 2.5 million jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate dropped to 11.1% in June from 13.3% in May. The unemployment rate had been expected to dip to 12.3%.

Another report from the Labor Department report said initial jobless claims dropped to 1.427 million, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week's revised level of 1.482 million. Economists had expected jobless claims to tumble to 1.355 million from the 1.480 million originally reported for the previous week.

Data from the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods showed a substantial rebound in the month of May, spiking by 8% in the month, after plunging by a revised 13.5% in April. Economists had expected factory orders to surge up by 8.9% compared to the 13% plunge originally reported for the previous month.

In other U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in the month of May amid a steep drop in the value of exports.