(RTTNews) - Gold prices were little changed on Thursday, pausing from a significant recent downtrend even as lackluster news from the jobs front fueled concerns about demand for the precious metal. The dollar extended its 6-month highs versus the slumping euro, limiting gold's hedge appeal.

Gold for April eased $0.90 to $1,084.80 an ounce, having found support after big losses last week. Still, gold remains far from last year's record peak above $1,200. Despite a few attempts this week, gold has failed to sustain any moves back above $1,100.

A mixed bag of economic news from the US helped send stocks lower on Wall Street. First time claims for unemployment benefits showed a modest decrease in the week ended January 23rd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, although economists had been expecting a more substantial decrease.

The report showed that initial jobless claims slipped to 470,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000.

The US Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing that new orders for durable goods rebounded in December following two consecutive monthly decreases. However, the increase in orders was much smaller than economists had been anticipating.

The report showed that durable goods orders edged up by 0.3 percent in December after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in November.