By Deborah Levine, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold futures fell for a second day Thursday after briefly recovering some ground after a report showed that U.S. first-time jobless claims fell 3,000 to 420,000 in the latest week, better than some economists expected.
Gold for February delivery (GCG11 1,374, -12.20, -0.88%) fell $11.80, or 0.9%, to $1,374.20 an ounce, after touching $1,370.50 an ounce.
A simultaneous report showed U.S. housing starts rose 3.9% to a 555,000 pace last month, a little stronger than forecast. Read more on housing starts.
The dollar slipped modestly, more beholden to worries about what European officials will agree on as they start a two-day meeting. Read more on dollar, euro.
On Wednesday, gold lost more than 1%, pressured by data showing low U.S. inflation and by a jump in the dollar after stronger manufacturing reports and rising bond yields made the currency more attractive.
