2018.03.2908:49:00UTC+00Gold Barely Budges Despite Inflation Report

Gold futures were steady Thursday morning after data showing U.S. inflation picked up a bit.

The rate of inflation over the past 12 months rose slightly to 1.8%, according to the Federal Reserve's PCE gauge. The core rate also edged up to 1.6%.

This is the Fed's prefered metric for evaluating inflation. While still below the Fed's 2% target, analysts say inflation has been trending higher.

The Fed may raise interest rates as many as three more times in 2018 if inflation begins to accelerate.

This will boost the dollar and perhaps dent gold prices. Gold was down $2 at $1328 an ounce, further trimming recent gains.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended March 24th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 215,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 227,000.