Gold moved steadily higher in London PM and New York AM trading Thursday as worries about weakening economic indicators and the fallout of national debt decisions in the United States and EU persist. Spot gold rose from the $1,660 level to more than $1,680 before topping out early Thursday as traders and investors look to Friday’s U.S. July employment report for further indications of which way the economic winds are blowing.

Spot gold was set at $1,679.50 per ounce at the London PM fix and was trading at 1,677.40 Bid, $1,678.40 Ask. Silver was set at $41.62 and was trading at $42.02 Bid, $42.12 Ask.

Turning to exchange trading, gold trusts were moving higher in early morning trading Thursday.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was up strongly, trading nearly 2% higher.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) was up nearly 1.2%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was up around 1.1%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs were giving back some of their recent gains.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was down around 1.4%.
• The Market Vector Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) was down nearly 2.75%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was more than 3% lower.

Shares of gold miners were weakening, with NovaGold Resources dropping more than 4% early Thursday.

• Agnico Eagle Mines (USA) (NYSE:AEM) was around 0.5% higher.
• Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:ABX) was down more than 2.1%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was more than 1.5% lower.
• Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) was down around 1%.
• NovaGold Resources (USA) (AMEX:NG) had dropped more than 4.25%.

Silver mining shares were sharply lower, with Coeur D’Alene Mines and Pan American Silver more than 4% lower.

• Coeur D’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE:CDE) was around 4.8% lower.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was down more than 3.8%.
• Pan American Silver Corp. (USA) (NASDAQ:PAAS) was around 4.6% lower.
• Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) (NYSE:SLW) was down more than 2.8%.
• Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:SSRI) was down around 3.2%.

The author does not hold positions in any of the aforementioned investments.