Investing.com - Gold futures were steady in post-Christmas Day trade on Thursday, with volumes expected to remain light as holidays in many countries limit activity. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,205.85 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.2%. Gold prices held in a range between USD1,200.50 a troy ounce and USD1,206.50 a troy ounce. Futures were likely to find support at USD1,186.00 a troy ounce, the low from December 19 and resistance at USD1,226.00, the high from December 19. The February contract settled 0.53% higher on Tuesday to end at USD1,203.30 a troy ounce. There was no floor or electronic trading on Wednesday because of the Christmas holiday. Volumes were expected to remain light on Thursday, with year-end positioning and profit-taking driving flows. Market players looked ahead to U.S. data on initial jobless claims later in the day, to gauge if the U.S. economy will be strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to continue withdrawing support through 2014. Comex gold prices plunged to a six-month low of USD1,186,00 a troy ounce on December 19, as investors liquidated long positions after the Fed announced plans to begin tapering its monthly bond-buying program by USD10 billion in January. Some market participants believe the Fed will likely reduce its bond purchases by USD10 billion in each of its next seven meetings before ending the program in December 2014, amid indications of an improving U.S. economy. Gold is down approximately 29% this year, on track for its first yearly loss in 13 years and the worst since 1981, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Fed will begin curbing stimulus. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for March delivery inched up 0.15% to trade at USD19.51 a troy ounce, while copper futures for March delivery added 0.05% to trade at USD3.376 a pound.

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