Gold hovered near a five-week high on Thursday after jumping overnight following sluggish US retail sales data that triggered speculation the Federal Reserve would not raise interest rates soon. Spot gold was steady at $1,214.10 an ounce by 0603 GMT, near the high of $1,218.80 reached on Wednesday. The metal closed that session up 1.9 percent.
Silver was also trading near five-week highs after a 3.5 percent gain overnight. Data on Wednesday showed US retail sales were flat in April as households cut back on purchases of automobiles and other big-ticket items, the latest sign the economy is struggling to rebound after barely growing in the first quarter. "This broad-based weakness in the US retail space confirms our belief that the Fed's hands are tied at the moment," said Howie Lee, an analyst at Phillip Futures, adding that gold prices would be well supported if a rate rise looked to have been pushed back.
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