Prices came under pressure earlier in the day after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting indicated support for tapering.
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.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,375.10 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, up 0.35%.
Futures held in a range between USD1,354.80 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,376.10 a troy ounce.
The December contract settled down 0.2% at USD1,370.10 a troy ounce on Wednesday.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,318.10 a troy ounce, the low from August 15 and resistance at USD1,384.00, the high from August 19.
Gold prices rose to the highest levels of the day after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless rose by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000 last week.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 323,000, from a previously reported 320,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to rise by 7,000 to 330,000 last week.
Market participants have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
The minutes of the central bank’s July meeting 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.
The central bank is scheduled to meet September 17-18 to review the economy and assess policy.
The precious metal is on track to post a loss of approximately 19% on the year amid concerns the Fed will start to unwind its stimulus program by the year's end.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery rose 1.1% to trade at USD23.21 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery rallied 1.8% to trade at USD3.366 a pound.
Copper futures rallied sharply as the release of unexpectedly strong manufacturing data out of the euro zone and China boosted demand expectations for the industrial metal.
The preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to a four-month high of 50.1 in August, up from 47.7 in July. Economists had forecast a reading of 48.3.
The measure climbed above the 50.0-mark for the first time since April, indicating expansion in manufacturing activity.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year and manufacturing numbers are often used as indicators for future demand growth.
Meanwhile, data out of the euro zone fuelled optimism over the region’s economic outlook.
The flash euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.3 in August from a final reading of 50.3 in July. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 50.8.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI rose to a 25 month high of 52.0, while the services PMI rose to a six-month high of 52.4.
Europe as a region is third in global demand for the industrial metal.
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