The price of gold continued to edge higher on Thursday, adding to gains from the previous session.
Gold for April delivery rallied to $914.20, up $3.50 on the day. The metal is up more than $18 in a recent two day rally, coming off a monthly low.
U.S. Department of Labor revealed initial jobless claims came in at 654,000 for the week ended March 7. This was up 9,000 from the previous week's revised total.
Meanwhile, Commerce Department data showed that retail sales edged down 0.1 percent in February following an upwardly revised 1.8 percent increase in January. Economists had expected sales to fall 0.5 percent compared to the 1.0 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The U.S. dollar edged slightly down against the euro and the pound but held steady versus the yen and the franc following the release of the data. Gold generally moves opposite the dollar because of the precious metal's hedge appeal.
Higher crude oil prices also provided a boost for gold's hedge value. Light sweet crude for April added 76 cents to $43.09 for the session.
Gold rallied above $900 an ounce on Wednesday as investors bet a recent plunge was overdone. A weaker dollar helped boost the metal's hedge appeal.
