Gold is stable on Thursday, continuing a week in which the metal has shown little movement. The spot price stands at $1310.62 per ounce in the European session. On the release front, today's highlight is Unemployment Claims. The markets are expecting the indicator to rise back above the 300 thousand level, with an estimate of 307 thousand.
Gold prices remain above the key $1300 level, as the metal has benefited from the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East. Fighting continues between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists, and the UN says that over 2000 people have died in the past two weeks. In Iraq, Islamic State militants, who continue to make gains in Iraq, have attacked and displaced thousands of ethnic Kurds, which has resulted in a growing humanitarian crisis. US President Barak Obama has authorized air strikes against the militants in order to protect the Kurds and safeguard US interests. The situation in Iraq is volatile and could quickly destabilize even further. In Gaza, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been renewed for five days, with negotiations over a long-term agreement expected to continue in Cairo.
In the US, retail sales data disappointed on Wednesday. Retail Sales dropped to a flat 0.0% last month, its weakest showing since January. The estimate stood at 0.2%. Core Retail Sales wasn't much better, posting a gain of 0.1%, down from 0.4% a month earlier. This was well short of the estimate of 0.4%. Retail sales are the primary gauge of consumer spending, and July's weak numbers points to a slow start to the third quarter. Although unemployment levels have dropped, this has not translated into stronger spending by the US consumer. We'll get a look at Unemployment Claims later in the day. The markets are expecting a weaker reading than the week before, with the estimate at 307 thousand.
XAU/USD 1317.42 H: 1311.31 L: 1310.62
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