YEREVAN, May 31. /ARKA/. Gold futures on Thursday scored their highest settlement in more than two weeks as a weaker dollar, disappointing U.S. economic data and strong physical demand in Asia combined to lift prices above $1,400 an ounce.

A rise in gold holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust GLD +1.39% , the largest U.S. gold-backed exchange-traded fund, was also a key supportive factor for the metal, analysts said.

Gold for August delivery GCQ3 -0.19% rose $20.20, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,412 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the highest close for a most-active contract since May 14, according to FactSet data. On Wednesday, prices settled higher by $12.10, or 0.9%.

Weakness in the U.S. dollar DXY +0.37% , which lost significant ground against the euro EURUSD -0.52% , aided gold’s climb on Wednesday.

A fall in the greenback tends to provide support for dollar-denominated commodities such as gold, as it makes them less expensive for holders of other currencies to buy them.

“The greenback fell sharply after the first quarter GDP, [weekly] unemployment claims and pending home sales all disappointed expectations,” said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at GFT Markets, in a daily note. “This helped to boost the appeal of gold and silver, which continue to attract solid demand in the physical market.”

July silver SIN3 -0.77% rose 24 cents, or 1.1%, to end at $22.69 an ounce. –0--