By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures are less than half a percentage point away from their record high, resuming an increase as investors continued to buy gold as a means to protect their wealth. Gold for December delivery added $5, or 0.4%, to $1,252.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's 0.4% away from the June 18 record high of $1,258.30 an ounce. Gold held on to its gains after the government said first-time unemployment benefit claims fell by 6,000 to 472,000 in the week ended Aug. 28. See related story. See weekly U.S. jobless claims fall. Gold fell on Wednesday, on a slew of positive economic news that removed some of the flight-to-quality buying that has powered the precious metal. Data included better-than-expected manufacturing data, and stocks rallied. Other metals were tracking gold higher on Thursday. Silver for December delivery added 38 cents, or 1.4%, to $19.67 an ounce.

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