CHICAGO, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Thursday as investors flocked to the precious metal as a safe haven, despite a stronger U.S. dollar and equities.
The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 1.4 U.S. dollars, or 0.09 percent, to close at 1,479.3 dollars per ounce.
Investors are concerned about the larger economic picture so gold's safe haven properties are attractive to some investors.
Gold also found support as a weekly jobless claims report released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed jobless claims increasing by a worse-than-expected 70,000 to a reading of 281,000 jobless claims during the week ending March 14. Market analysts attributed many of these claims to the coronavirus-related economic slowdown.
The precious metal was under pressure as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 504.16 points, or 2.53 percent, to a 20,403.08 level as of 1755 GMT.
Gold's rise was also capped as the U.S. Dollar Index rose by 1.50, or 1.48 percent, to a 102.66 level.
Silver for May delivery rose 36.2 cents, or 3.08 percent, to close at 12.134 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery fell 8.2 dollars, or 1.36 percent, to close at 596.8 dollars per ounce. Enditem
