(Kitco News) -- Gold futures gave back a small portion of their recent gains Thursday as some traders exited to book profits after jobless claims fell more than forecast and equities consolidated.

Gold for December delivery lost $3.60 to $1,237.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after peaking overnight at $1,246, its strongest level since July 1. Shortly after the Comex pit closed, spot gold was down $5.60 to $1,234.40.

December silver fell 5 cents to $19.022.

“We’re seeing some mild profit-taking,” said Sterling Smith, Commodity Trading Advisor and market analyst with Country Hedging.

Still, others said, the favorable trend for gold remains intact.

“I’m still friendly (toward gold),” said Charles Nedoss, senior market strategist with Olympus Futures, pointing out that the metal remains not far from its two-month highs. “There’s just a little lightening up.”

Some of gold’s retreat was also described as technical in nature, with some short-term traders exiting when the market did not extend its highs during the day session.

Gold had been rising in recent days on safe-haven buying amid worries about the economy, particularly after soft U.S. housing and durable-goods data this week. Thus, the rally stalled amid a more upbeat report on the jobless situation in the U.S. The Labor

Department reported that weekly initial claims fell 31,000 to 473,000, the first decline in four weeks. Expectations had been for a more modest decline of 10,000 to 15,000.

Equities were said to be consolidating, first upticking after the data but then giving up the gains since worries about the economy persist.

Still, the jobs report was mixed, with not all of the news good, Nedoss pointed out. The four-week average for claims rose 3,250 to 486,750.

Traders also may have exited some gold positions on slightly calmer nerves regarding debt issues in Europe, Smith said. “People took money off the table ahead of the GDP number tomorrow,” he added.

Traders often square positions ahead of major events. Friday brings a revision to second-quarter gross domestic product, along with a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at an annual Fed symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Gold fixed in London this afternoon at $1,237, down slightly from $1,237.50 on Wednesday.

Nedoss put support for December gold at $1,231 and resistance at $1,252. For December silver, he pegged support at $18.67 and resistance at $19.50.

Silver followed gold lower, but held up better on a relative basis as it drew some spillover support from a stronger copper market, Smith said. Silver has many industrial applications ranging from health care to electronics, thus often takes its cue from copper, a bellwether industrial metal. The strength in copper was largely technical in nature, with buy stops triggered, Smith said. December copper rose 9.4 cents to settle at $3.3255 per pound.

Just as some traders were selling in gold to even out positions ahead of Friday’s events, they were buying to square up in copper, Smith said. Copper had been pushed lower lately on jitters about the economy and thus demand for the metal, used in construction and manufacturing.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

Editor’s Note: Meet the Kitco News Team at the upcoming Kitco Metals eConference September 12-13, 2010. A not-to-be missed event featuring Ron Paul, Marc Faber and other industry heavyweights. The eConference is free with Pre- Registration www.kitcoeconf.com.