2021.02.1119:00:00UTC+00Gold Futures Snap 4-day Winning Streak, Settle Notably Lower

Gold futures settled lower on Thursday, sliding after four successive days of gains, as the dollar recovered after initial weakness amid a rise in U.S. yields.

The dollar index, which slid to 90.26, recovered to 90.47 around mid afternoon, gaining marginally over its previous close of 90.37.

Gold futures for April ended down $15.90 or about 0.9% at $1,826.80 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended lower by $0.031 at $27.047 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.7715 per pound, down $0.0010 from previous close.

In economic news, a report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dipped from an upwardly revised level in the week ended February 6th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 793,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level of 812,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 757,000 from the 779,000 originally reported for the previous week.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Chairman stated that the central bank's accommodative policies still need to stay in place for a considerable time, saying the employment picture is a "long way" from where it needs to be.

Powell emphasized that he wanted to see inflation at 2% or more before even thinking of tapering the bank's super-easy policies.