• Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose Wednesday to finish at the highest level in seven weeks, with the U.S. dollar taking a lower turn as comments from President-elect Donald Trump fueled uncertainty in financial markets.
• The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 11.1 U.S. dollars, or 0.94 percent, to settle at 1,196.60 dollars per ounce.
• Spot gold XAU= was up 0.2 percent at $1,193.31 per ounce. Bullion on Wednesday touched a high of $1,198.40, its best since Nov. 23.
• Additional, markets focus on Federal Chair Janet Yellen appears at a webcast town hall meeting with educators on Thursday.
• U.S. stocks lost ground in choppy trading, led by drug stocks after Trump said pharmaceutical companies were "getting away with murder" by charging high drug prices.
• During the news conference, Trump denied allegations that Russia is blackmailing him. He also detailed how he would handle conflicts of interests and said his adult sons would run the Trump Organization.
• The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against six rivals, turned down by 0.4 percent to 101.57 after trading close to 103 at its highest level of the day. U.S. equities saw up-and-down action after Trump spoke to reporters at his first news conference since the election.
• Silver for March delivery fell 2 cents, or 0.12 percent, to close at 16.828 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery dropped 6.4 dollars, or 0.65 percent, to close at 976.40 dollars per ounce.
Reference: Xinhua, Reuters
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