CHICAGO, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange continued to climb on Thursday, benefited from the weaker dollar and a reemergence of physical demand. Silver and platinum both rallied.

The most active gold contract for December delivery rose 8.8 U. S. dollars, or 0.8 percent, to finish at 1,171.2 dollars, the biggest gain for the most-active contract since July 20.

The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people applying for initial unemployment benefits dropped 11,000 to 457,000 last week, compared with economist's expectation of 452, 500. The larger-than-expected decline suggested that the layoff may be easing, but the job market is still recovering at a glacial pace.

Meanwhile, a report showed that the European confidence in the economic outlook jumped to the highest level in more than two years in July, and the unemployment in Germany fell in July for the 13th month in...

>> Full Article