By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rose on Thursday, as Chinese manufacturing data showed activity picked up in November and a weaker dollar made investing in the yellow metal more attractive.
Gold futures for December delivery GCZ2 +0.17% gained $1.60, or 0.1%, to $1,729.70 an ounce, adding to the prior day’s gains.
The contract settled $4.60 higher on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday on the back of a report showing central banks in emerging economies picked up gold buying in October.
Floor trading in New York will be closed on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
The metal’s move higher came as HSBC’s preliminary manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for China showed factory activity rose to 50.4 in November, making its way above the 50-point level that separates improvement from deterioration.
The climb marked the first time in 13 months the index printed above 50. See: China manufacturing finally expanding, data show
Reuters
China factory picked up in November data shows in Thursday.
Metal prices are usually boosted by growth signs from China, as the country is major user of natural resources.
A slumping dollar price further helped gold prices move into positive territory. The ICE dollar index DXY -0.13% fell to 80.794 from 80.937 in late North America trade.
Elsewhere in the metals complex, futures traded mixed.
Silver for December delivery SIZ2 +0.09% slipped 0.1% to $33.33 an ounce, and January platinum PLF3 +0.03% dropped 0.1% to $1,582.90 an ounce.
December palladium PAZ2 +0.88% rose 0.6% to $655.00 an ounce, while copper for the same month HGZ2 +0.40% picked up 0.5% $3.51 a pound.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
