(fxcue news) - Gold prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, continuing to benefit by the 50-basis point interest rate cut announced by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, and prospects of more reductions in coming months. With inflation moving sustainably toward its 2% target, the central bank lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 4.75 to 5%. Fed officials also forecast continued rate cuts over the coming months and into next year, generating optimism the central bank will be able to engineer a soft landing for the economy. The dollar index, which remained a bit subdued in the European session, climbed to 101.47 in the New York session before easing to 100.71, but still holding above the flat line. Gold futures for September ended higher by $17.30 or about 0.67% at $2,588.00 an ounce, a new record closing high. Silver futures for September settled at $31.094 an ounce, gaining $0.753 or nearly 2.5%, while Copper futures for September advanced to $4.2865 per pound, gaining $0.0485 or about 1.15%. In economic news today, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a nearly four-month low in the week ended September 14th. The report said initial jobless claims slid to 219,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 231,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 230,000 originally reported for the previous week. With the unexpected decline, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th. A reading on Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity returned to positive territory in the month of September, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia revealed in a report released today. The report said the diffusion index for current general activity jumped to a positive 1.7 in September from a negative 7.0 in August, with a positive reading indicating growth.