Investing.com - Gold prices traded steady to higher in early Asian trade on Thursday with buying on a dip overnight after upbeat U.S. consumer sentiment pushed the dollar higher and in thin dealing ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday with markets there closed. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,237.60 a troy ounce, up 0.01%. Overnight, the dollar saw support after the University of Michigan said its index of overall consumer sentiment was revised up to 75.1 in November from a preliminary estimate of 72.0. Economists had expected the index to be revised up to 73.5. Also on Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a two-month low of 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000. The upbeat data offset a report showing that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase. The data kept expectations going that the Federal Reserve will announce plans to taper stimulus likely in early 2014 and end a policy that has supported the yellow metal for over a year.

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