Gold closes lower as dollar rises after upbeat data

Gold prices fell on Thursday, as the US dollar rose against most major currencies after the release of upbeat US economic data.

The US Department of Labor revealed that the number of initial unemployment claims fell to 547K last week, the lowest reading since March 2020, better than forecasts of 607K.

This comes amid anticipation of the results of major companies, led by Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.3% to 91.3 points as of 18:34 GMT, after it hit a high of 91.2 points and a low of 91 points.

Gold June futures fell 0.6% or $11.10, and closed at $1,782 an ounce, after hitting a day high at $1,798.1 and the low at $1,777.1.