Data optimism under

Gold closed up nearly 1.9 percent on Thursday after U.S. data eased concerns that the world's largest economy was in for a hard landing. Thursday's gains brought gold close to a record high reached last month. Gold eased slightly after its biggest single-day gain in three weeks. Spot gold traded at $2,419 per ounce on the last trading day of the week. According to the calculation made with the ounce of gold and the dollar/TL, the gram of gold was at TL 2,612. The number of first-time jobless claims in the U.S. fell by the most in almost a year last week. That eased concerns that the labor market was cooling too quickly after last week's disappointing report. That raised optimism that the Fed could avoid a recession by easing monetary policy starting next month. The precious metal is up nearly 18 percent this year. Other factors supporting gold's rally include increased buying by central banks and Chinese consumers, as well as conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. "Increased volatility, rising geopolitical risks, recession concerns and expected rate cuts have driven gold to current levels. Such environments provide an excellent environment for gold," RBC Capital Markets analysts Helima Croft said in a note.