Gold rises on strong U.S. corporate earnings, short-covering

Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up on Thursday, after briefly rose above 1,200 U.S. dollars per ounce in the session, as investors welcomed a strong round of U.S. corporate earnings. Silver advanced, and platinum ended a tad lower.

The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 3.8 dollars, or 0.3 percent, to finish at 1,195.6 U.S. dollars.

Gold lost its steam after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke 's dovish testimony on Wednesday fueled speculation in the market that U.S. is falling into a deflationary spiral, and demand for the precious metal has been waning.

Gold traded lower during the early session on Thursday, and touched an intraday low of 1,180.7 dollars per ounce. But gold price surged during mid-session amid a general rally in riskier assets, as strong U.S. corporate earnings revived optimism about U. S. economic prospects, and bargain hunters stepped in, took advantage of the upbeat market sentiment, and purchased the bullion at a much lower price.

Gold pared its earlier gains prior to the close, as data showed that sales of previously owned U.S. homes hit a three-month low in June while new claims for jobless benefits surged last week, suggesting U.S. economy is still quite weak.

September silver rose 31.7 cents, or 1.8 percent, to settle at 18.12 dollars per ounce, while October platinum was down 0.4 dollars, to settle at 1,529.4 dollars per ounce.

Source:Xinhua