Gold prices surged to a more-than-one-month high on Thursday, reaching $2,718 per ounce for spot gold and $2,748.60 for U.S. gold futures, driven by weaker U.S. Treasury yields following recent economic data. The increase in gold prices came after U.S. core inflation data for December showed a softer-than-expected rise of 0.2%, fueling expectations for a more dovish Federal Reserve policy with markets now anticipating 37 basis points worth of rate cuts by year-end. Initial jobless claims for the week ended January 11 also rose more than anticipated to 217,000, signaling some weakening in the labor market. These factors contributed to a drop in the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.615%, enhancing gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation. Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets ended lower, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones falling 0.21% and 0.16% respectively, while the Nasdaq declined 0.89%, primarily due to declines in major tech stocks like Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, and Alphabet. Despite strong earnings from banks like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, the market sentiment remained cautious. In Europe, stocks extended gains influenced by cooler-than-expected inflation data from both the U.S. and the U.K., while Asian markets showed mixed responses ahead of key U.S. inflation data and upcoming China economic reports. Gold reached $2,746 per ounce during the day.