Gold falls on mixed economic data

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell Thursday on mixed economic data. The most active gold contract for December delivery dropped 12. 1 dollars, or 0.91 percent, to settle at 1,324.1 dollars per ounce. A number of economic data have been published Thursday, producing mixed effect on gold. US Labor Department said the number of new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to 305,000 in the week ending Sept.21, as against market expectation for an increase from the prior week. US government\'s third and final review put the US economic growth unchanged at 2.5 percent in the second quarter, falling short of the market expectation of a 2.7-percent growth. Data released by the National Association of Realtors showed that US home sales fell 1.6 percent in August. Market analysts hold that economy in the US as well as in the world is recovering, although at a slow pace, which is negative to gold. Pending debt ceiling kept weighing on investors. Silver for December delivery lost 12 cents, or 0.55 percent, to close at 21.766 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery shed 17.6 dollars, or 1.23 percent, to close at 1,414.7 dollars per ounce.