Spot Gold Hits Session Lows After U.S. Jobless Claims Drop to 187k

Gold prices reached session lows on Thursday morning after stronger-than-expected U.S. labor market data. The Labor Department reported 187,000 initial claims for the week ending July 18, below forecasts of 212,000. The prior week's figure was revised up to 209,000.

Spot gold traded at $4,071.59 per ounce, down 1.41% on the day. The four-week moving average of new claims came in at 207,500 versus expectations of 213,000 and the previous 214,750.

Continuing claims totaled 1.796 million for the week ending July 11, under the anticipated 1.809 million and the revised prior level of 1.798 million.