Gold builds on U.S. gains in Asia

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                                                 Gold futures traded higher in the early part of Friday’s Asian session, building on gains accrued in Thursday’s U.S. session thanks to some weak jobs data. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery rose 0.35% to USD1,333.45 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday after settling up 0.67% at USD1,328.35 per ounce in U.S. trade Thursday. 

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,269.45 a troy ounce, the low from July 17, and resistance at USD1,347.85, Tuesday's high. 

In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 7,000 to 343,000 last week. Economists expected a reading of 340,000 new claims. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits dropped to 2.3 percent in the week ended July 13 from 2.4 percent the prior week, according to Bloomberg. 

Durable goods orders jumped 4.2% in June after a revised 5.2% increase in May. Analysts expected an increase of just 1.4%. 

Core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, were flat in June, missing expectations for a 0.5% increase, which supported gold prices. 

Tepid U.S. data has proven helpful to gold because it helps alleviate concerns that the Federal Reserve will act quickly to begin tapering its USD85 billion-per-month quantitative easing program. 

Elsewhere, Comex silver for September delivery rose 0.38% to USD20.230 per ounce while copper for September delivery fell 0.16% to USD3.185 an ounce. - investing.com