The price of gold rising on Thursday amid expectations of investors additional incentives of the U.S. economy, as well as fears of further deterioration of the debt crisis in the eurozone.

Weak statistical data from the U.S., published the day before, revived the hopes of the bidders for additional easing of monetary policy in the United States. So, on Wednesday it was reported that retail sales in the country in May declined by 0.2%. Despite the fact that the rate coincided with the forecasts of analysts, data disappointed investors since the April growth rate of 0.1% was revised downward to minus 0.2%.

Thus, the sales decline for two consecutive months for the first time since 2010.In addition, the demand for safe assets such as precious metals, supported by investors' fears of further economic deterioration in the eurozone. On the night of Thursday the international rating agency Moody's lowered the sovereign credit rating by two notches of Cyprus - to "Ba3" from "Ba1", as well as the rating of Spain at once on three levels - to "Baa3" from "A3".

The June gold futures on the COMEX today rose to 1626.4 dollars per ounce.