2019.10.1718:54:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle At 1-week High

Gold futures ended higher on Thursday as the commodity continued to retain its safe-haven appeal amid some uncertainty about the latest Brexit deal getting the approval of the policymakers and on rising concerns about global economic slowdown.

The gold's rise was also supported by the dollar's weakness amid speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again to boost economic growth.

The dollar index drifted down to 97.50 and was last seen hovering around 97.60, down more than 0.4% from previous close.

Gold futures for December ended up $4.30, or about 0.3%, at $1,498.30 an ounce.

On Wednesday, gold futures for December ended up $10.50, or 0.7%, at $1,494.00 an ounce, rebounding strongly after a near 1% decline a session earlier.

Silver futures for December ended up $0.185, at $17.612 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.5975 per pound, up $0.0080 from previous close.

In economic news, a report from the Federal Reserve showed a bigger than expected decrease in industrial production, with the strike at General Motors (GM) contributing to a drop in manufacturing output.

The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.4% in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8% in August.

Economists had expected production to edge down by 0.1% compared to the 0.6% increase originally reported for the previous month.

Data from the Commerce Department said housing starts plunged by 9.4% to an annual rate of 1.256 million in September after soaring by 15.1% to a revised 1.386 million in August.

Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 3.2% to an annual rate of 1.320 million from the 1.364 million originally reported for the previous month.

The report said building permits also slumped by 2.7% to an annual rate of 1.387 million in September after jumping by 8.2% to a revised 1.425 million in August. Building permits had been expected to tumble by 4.9% to a rate of 1.350 million from the 1.419 million originally reported for the previous month.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged up to 214,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 210,000, data from Labor Department showed. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000.