Gold Futures Close Higher As Dollar Remains Weak

(RTTNews) - Gold futures closed higher on Wednesday, gaining for a second straight session, as the dollar remained weak. Geopolitical tensions and political uncertainty in France contributed as well for the increased demand for the safe-haven asset.

The dollare index dropped to 106.09 after having climbed to 106.72 early on in the New York session.

Gold futures for December closed up $9.10 or about 0.34% at $2,653.80 an ounce.

Silver futures for December settled at $31.505 an ounce, gaining $0.428 or about 1.4%, while Copper futures for December dropped to $4.1335 per pound, losing $0.0125 or about 0.3%.

The Commerce Department released a report showing a modest increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the month of October. The report said factory orders rose by 0.2% in October after dipping by a revised 0.2% in September. Economists had expected factory orders to rise by 0.2%.

A report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday showed U.S. service sector growth slowed by more than anticipated in the month of November. The ISM said its services PMI fell to 52.1 in November from 56.0 in October. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth, economists had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 55.5.

Data from payroll processor ADP showed private sector employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of November, climbing by 146,000 jobs, after jumping by a downwardly revised 184,000 jobs in October.

Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 165,000 jobs compared to the surge of 233,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Following the data, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is indicating a 75.7% chance the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by 25 basis points later this month.