The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 6.9 U.S. dollars, or 0.35 percent, to close at 1,937.8 dollars per ounce.
The weekly jobless claims report released by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that the initial jobless claims fell by 130,000 to a seasonally adjusted 881,000 in the week of Aug. 29, better than expected.
Traders are also selling gold to cover losses as U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply.
Gold found some support and was prevented from falling as a report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday showed the U.S. trade deficit jumped by 18.9 percent to 63.6 billion U.S. dollars in July.
Silver for December delivery fell 52 cents, or 1.9 percent, to close at 26.875 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery fell 14.5 dollars, or 1.6 percent, to close at 889.6 dollars per ounce.
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