Palladium and platinum, heavily used in manufacturing, also benefitting By Kate Gibson & Claudia Assis, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold and other metals surged Thursday after a round of stronger global manufacturing data and a drop in jobless claims made the case for higher commodities demand worldwide. Platinum and palladium climbed to highs not seen since 2008, while gold futures held near two-week highs as a weaker dollar was giving commodities a further boost. Get latest currency-exchange rates. After advancing 1.7% in the first quarter of the year, its sixth-quarterly rise, gold futures for June delivery were up $13, or 1.2%, to $1,127.5 an ounce. Platinum for July delivery rose $29.40 an ounce, or 1.8%, to $1,676.30 an ounce. It gained more than 11% for the first quarter, which concluded Wednesday. Palladium for June delivery gained $12.80, or 2.7%, to $492.75 an ounce, after rallying 10% in March and about 17% for the first quarter. "It has been a very positive day so far, not just for gold and other metals, but for commodities in general," said Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS Finance in Geneva. The dollar index (DXY 80.77, -0.31, -0.38%) , which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, traded at 80.78, down 0.3%. "The dollar is not looking so good anymore (and) physical demand from Asia looks like it is going to continue," strengthening gold and nudging prices towards the $1,140-$1,145 an ounce mark, he said. At those levels, investment demand, largely absent since the beginning of the year, could come back and push gold higher, he said. "Traders are thinking we have seen the lowest point in gold for the moment," Nabavi said. As for palladium and platinum, heavily used in manufacturing, their outperformance compared to gold is tied to the growing hopes the pace of recovery is picking up. In the U.S., the ISM manufacturing diffusion index rose to 59.6% in March from 56.5% in February, the Institute for Supply Management said, a six-year high and topping expectations of 57.5%. See more on ISM. The U.S. Labor Department said the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell 6,000 in the week ended March 27 to a seasonally adjusted 439,000, better than economists were anticipating. See more on jobless claims. The U.S. reports helped commodities extend gains after data from Europe and Asia showed a similarly rosy outlook. Data from Chinese manufacturing climbed and confidence among industrial companies in Japan improved. Read more about Asian markets and economies. Also, manufacturing activity across the 16-nation euro zone grew at its fastest pace since June 2006, according to the final Markit euro-zone manufacturing purchasing-managers index for March. The SPDR Gold Trust (SPY 117.88, +0.88, +0.75%) , the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, added 1.3% to $110.31. In related news, Papuan-Australian miner Lihir Gold Ltd. (LIHR 36.06, +7.90, +28.06%) said Thursday it had rejected a 9.2 billion Australian dollar ($8.4 billion) takeover bid from Newcrest Mining Ltd. that would have created a gold-mining goliath. Read about why Lihir spurned the Newcrest advance.

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