2019.12.0518:15:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Modestly Higher

Gold prices edged modestly higher on Thursday, after equities shed some ground and the dollar edged down against some major currencies, prompting investors to seek the safe haven asset.

Sluggish equity markets amid somewhat mixed signals on the U.S.-China trade front contributed as well to gold's uptick.

The dollar index eased to 97.36 and was last seen hovering around 97.40, down by about 0.25% from previous close.

Gold futures for February ended up $2.90, or about 0.2%, at $1,483.10 an ounce.

On Wednesday, gold futures for February ended down $4.20, or 0.3%, at $1,480.20 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended up $0.143 at $17.059 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $2.6630 per pound, gaining $0.0040 for the session.

In trade news, a phase one-trade deal between the U.S. and China was still in the works and a partial resolution would be completed before another set of China tariffs kick in on December 15.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump said an agreement might have to wait until after the U.S. presidential election in November 2020.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had said in an interview on Wednesday that planned tariffs on Chinese imports would be imposed on December 15 as scheduled unless there is substantive progress in trade talks.

In U.S. economic news today, a report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. trade deficit narrowed in the month of October.

The report said trade deficit narrowed to $47.2 billion in October from a revised $51.1 billion in September. Economists had expected the trade deficit to narrow to $48.7 billion from the $52.5 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The lower deficit was due to a 1.7% drop in imports at $254.3 billion. Exports were down 0.2% to $207.1 billion in October.

Another report from the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased in line with economist estimates in the month of October, rising by 0.3% after falling by a revised 0.8% in September.

Economists had expected orders to rise by 0.3% compared to the 0.6% drop originally reported for the previous month.

Orders for durable goods climbed by 0.5% compared to the previously reported 0.6% increase, while orders for non-durable goods came in unchanged.

Data from the Labor Department showed an unexpected decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 30th.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 203,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 213,000. The drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000.

The monthly jobs data is due on Friday.