Gold futures edge higher in thin trade

Gold futures edged higher in thin trade on Friday, as Thursday's U.S. jobless claims data continued to support the precious metal, although growing expectations for a near-term end to the Federal Reserve's stimulus program weighed.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,372.00 a troy ounce during European afternoon hours, edging up 0.09%. 

The December contract settled up 0.05%, at USD1,370.8 a troy ounce on Thursday.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,356.00 a troy ounce, Thursday's low and resistance at USD1,384.00, the high from August 19. 

Gold prices found support after the Department of Labor on Thursday said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, slightly higher than forecasts for 330,000. 

But gains were limited after the minutes of the central bank’s July meeting on Wednesday showed that Fed officials were "broadly comfortable" with plans to scale back the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program.

However, policymakers remain divided over the timing of possible reduction, with almost all committee members agreeing that a change in the asset purchase program was not yet appropriate. 

The minutes described recent U.S. economic data as “mixed”, indicating that plans to taper could be pushed back if the economy was to weaken.

Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its quantitative easing program sooner-than-expected.

The central bank is scheduled to meet September 17-18 to review the economy and assess policy.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery added 0.17% to trade at USD23.075 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery rose 0.28% to trade at USD3.339 a pound.