Gold drops on stronger dollar

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped slightly on a stronger dollar Thursday. The most active gold contract for December delivery dropped 1.8 dollars, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 1,311.2 dollars per ounce. Dollar went strong on optimistic economic data released Thursday. The Institute for Supply Management said its July manufacturing index surged to a reading of 55.4 percent in July from 50.9 percent in June, the highest level since June 2011 and beating economists' expectation of 52.0 percent; the U.S. Labor Department reported that the initial jobless claims in the week ending July 27 dropped by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000, the lowest level since early 2008. U.S. stocks going high Thursday also took away the safe-haven appeal of gold. However, the fall in gold was limited as the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday to continue following the monetary stimulus policy and the European Central Bank and the Bank of England kept key policies and rates unchanged Thursday. Silver for September delivery lost 0.4 cents, or 0.02 percent, to close at 19.624 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery gained 14.5 dollars, or 1.01 percent, to close at 1,443.8 dollars per ounce.