LONDON: Gold rose almost three percent to a one-week high on Thursday as a weaker dollar and rising oil prices boosted sentiment.
Spot gold was at $770.10/782.60 an ounce at 1111 GMT compared with $754.30 late in New York on Wednesday. The metal earlier rose to $776.30 an ounce, the highest since Oct. 21, and a 2.9 percent gain on Wednesday’s close.
Firmer equities also lifted gold and other precious metals, with silver and palladium rising to their highest in two weeks and platinum hitting a 1-week high. Gold was also lifted by higher oil prices, which typically boosts the metal’s appeal as a hedge against inflation.
Gold, which traded around $800 earlier this month, was still well below a record high of $1,030.80 hit in March after a rally to a two-month high of $931 on Oct 10 was met by heavy selling.
Gold is still down almost 12 percent since the start of the month, on track for its biggest monthly decline since 1983, as an earlier rush for safe-haven assets gave way to a cross-commodity sell-off by investors scrambling for cash.
Silver tracked gold higher and was trading at $10.02/10.12, an ounce after rising almost 7 percent to a high of $10.50 against Wednesday’s $9.82. Platinum was trading at $839.00/869.00 an ounce, after earlier hitting a high of $870.00 an ounce from $793.50. Lonmin Plc, the world’s third-largest platinum producer, said the outlook for platinum prices remained challenging.
Prices for platinum have fallen about 45 percent so far this year. Palladium was at $197.00/207.00 from $194.50. reuters
