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Investing.com - Gold futures struggled for direction in Europe trade on Thursday, swinging between small gains and losses as investors continued to monitor movements in oil and global equity markets.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped $1.60, or 0.13%, to trade at $1,237.50 a troy ounce by 09:50GMT, or 4:50AM ET.
A day earlier, gold prices rallied $16.50, or 1.35%, as investors sought safer assets amid steep declines in oil prices and global stock markets.
Market players looked ahead to key U.S. economic data later in the day to gauge if the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand further rate hikes in 2016.
The U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders for January as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims at 15:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET.
Traders also awaited comments from a pair of Federal Reserve officials on Thursday to judge the balance of opinion among policymakers on the prospect of further rate hikes.
Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart gives welcoming remarks at the Atlanta Fed 2016 Banking Outlook Conference at 13:15GMT, or 8:15AM ET, while San Francisco Fed President John Williams is scheduled to give his outlook on the economy at 17:00GMT, or 12:00PM ET.
Gold prices have been well-supported in recent weeks amid growing speculation the Fed could delay the pace of its tightening for the remainder of 2016.
Prices of the yellow metal soared to a one-year high of $1,263.90 on February 11. Gold is up nearly 16% so far this year amid indications global economic and financial headwinds could make it tough for the Fed to raise interest rates as much as it would like this year.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery inched down 1.7 cents, or 0.07%, to trade at $15.28 a troy ounce during morning hours in London.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
