Gold settled down -0.97% at 31140 giving up all its earlier gains seen as Rupee fell past 65 to the dollar to a record low after Fed minutes hinted that the US was on course to begin tapering stimulus as early as next month and as foreign investors become sellers of Indian stocks. But latter in the day Rupee recovered made MCX Gold to close lower despite COMEX Gold traded slightly higher following a small gain as traders showed some comfort in the fact that the Fed stimulus program will remain in place for at least a few more months. The Federal Reserve revealed in the minutes of its July policy meeting that while support for tapering monthly asset purchases remains consistent in the US central bank, the timing of such a move remains up in the air as not all voting members remain convinced that data support such a move in the near future. A perceived lack of consensus among Fed voting members left markets concluding that monthly asset purchases will stay in place for now and continue to support gold prices by weakening the dollar. However, some economic data out of the US Thursday could be taken as a sign tapering could be more imminent than commodities bulls would like to think. In US economic news out Thursday, initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 15,000 to 320,000 last week. That is the lowest reading since October 2007, according to the US Labor Department. The less volatile four-week moving average fell 4,000 to 332,000, the lowest level since November 2007. SPDR gold trust holding remains unchanged to 913.52 tonnes on Thursday after holdings dropped 0.07 percent to 913.52 tonnes on Wednesday. Technically market is getting support at
30900 and below same could see a test of 30661 level, And resistance is now likely to be seen at 31533, a move above could see prices testing 31927.

Trading Ideas:

Gold trading range for the day is 30661-31927.

Gold dropped as rupee firmness weighed on prices but downside was limited after U. S. jobless claims showed a rise last week

In June, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bank expected to trim stimulus later this year and to halt it by mid-2014.

Strong demand from the major Asian gold consumers, and a reversal of outflows from gold-backed ETF's boosted metal.