Gold rose in price during the trading session on Thursday - futures quotations with settlement in August by the evening showed 1.12% growth on Comex exchange, having reached $1981.7 per troy ounce. During the trading their growth reached 1.19%. The interest in gold increased after the release of the unemployment data in the United States.

According to the statistics released by the Labor Department, the number of initial jobless claims over the past week rose more than forecasts and reached the highest level in the year and 8 months - it was 261 thousand against expectations of 235 thousand a week earlier this indicator was at the level of 233 thousand.

The weaker labor market prompts market players to expect the Fed to pause in the cycle of key rate hikes. The regulator's meeting is expected next week. The majority of analysts polled by CME Group (71.4%) expect that it will not decide to raise the rate. The rest of the respondents expects its growth up to 5.5%.