CHICAGO, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended higher Thursday, as a Federal Reserve policy update read as mostly dovish by investors helped lift prices to their highest finish since mid-June.
The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 10.6 U.S. dollars, or 0.85 percent, to settle at 1,260 dollars per ounce.
Ahead of the Fed's Wednesday afternoon release, gold futures had dropped for a third-straight session to settle at their lowest level in a week. They bounced back in after-hours trading and early Thursday.
The Fed Wednesday stood pat on interest rates, as expected, and said it would start reducing its 4.5 trillion dollars balance sheet relatively soon. The central bank was seen as striking a cautious note on inflation despite sticking with a dovish approach to policy unwinding.
Higher rates tend to push the dollar higher, nicking gold prices, and cutting demand for precious metals, which don't offer a yield, in favor of assets that do.
U.S. economic data Thursday was mixed, with weekly jobless claims up, but holding near the lowest level in decades, while orders for durable goods in June jumped to a three-year high, but only one company accounted for most of the gain.
As for other precious metals, silver for September delivery went up 11.4 cents, or 0.69 percent, to close at 16.573 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery added 3.7 dollars, or 0.4 percent, to close at 926.4 dollars per ounce. Enditem
