Gold futures on Thursday were trading on either side of unchanged after a trove of U.S. economic data and as investors watched for a second, and final, day of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
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Investors are watching for more clues about monetary policy from Powell after the central bank chief, in front of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, said that removing some of the Fed’s stimulus was some way off as the labor market struggles to rebound from the pandemic. Powell also described inflation as a short-lived phenomenon that would eventually revert to the mean after a COVID-fueled surge that has been stoked by supply shortages amid spiking demand.
The Fed boss is set to speak in front of a Senate committee at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
“The marketplace awaits Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony to a Senate committee, after he leaned easy on monetary policy when speaking to a House of Representatives panel on Wednesday,” wrote Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com, in a daily note.
Meanwhile, silver futures for September delivery
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Economic reports offered a mixed picture of the U.S. recovery from COVID.
U.S. initial jobless benefit claims fell to 360,000 from 386,000 in the week ended July 10. The U.S. import price index climbed 1% in June, and prices minus volatile fuel rose 0.7% on the month. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Manufacturing Index fell to 21.9 from 30.7, while the Empire State manufacturing index rose to a record 43 in July from 17.4 in the prior month.