Gold futures were higher with the euro following an agreement between the European Union and International Monetary Fund to jointly rescue Greece if the country's debt problems intensify.
In recent trade, most-active June gold was up $4.50, or 0.4%, to $1,098.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. April gold climbed $4.40, or 0.4%, to $1,097.30.
Most-active May silver rose 16.4 cents, or 1%, to $16.905.
Gold rose with the euro after news of the Greece accord, said Tom Pawlicki, precious-metals analyst with MF Global. The single European currency was recently up to $1.3372 from $1.3282 late Thursday. A softer dollar tends to encourage buying of gold as a hedge.
The euro was further helped by comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, saying he was happy with the proposed joint rescue plan. This came after he had chided European leaders late Thursday for not tackling Greece's problems alone and instead turning to the IMF.
"There is also some talk about physical demand up in Asia, and there was another build in [exchange-traded fund] holdings," Mr. Pawlicki said. "But it's mainly the strength in the euro that is offering support."
Holdings of gold in SPDR Gold Shares, the world's largest gold ETF, rose 4.57 metric tons late Thursday, according to its Web site.
Mr. Pawlicki put nearby resistance for June gold around the $1,100 level the market is currently hovering around, then $1,106. He put support around Wednesday's $1,086.10 low.
There was limited reaction by both the dollar and gold to an early-morning report showing that U.S. gross domestic product rose 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the final revision. This fell short of the consensus forecast of 5.8% after the government previously put growth at 5.9%.
