By Claudia Assis and Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rose on Thursday, getting a boost from a decline in the U.S. dollar.
Gold for June delivery GCM2 +0.92% rallied $16.20 to $1,676.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Support was underpinned by a weaker dollar, with the ICE dollar index DXY -0.46% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, trading at 79.355, down from 79.791 in North American trade late Wednesday.
A decline in the dollar boosts dollar-denominated commodities such as gold, because it makes them cheaper to holders of other currencies.
Gold closed Wednesday’s seesawing session down 40 cents, struggling with the absence of major catalysts. Read more on Wednesday's gold session.
Gold prices are outrunning most investments week-to-date, up 1.8% so far against losses for most metals, according to FactSet data.
In other metals trading Thursday, silver for May delivery SIK2 +2.55% rose 80 cents, or 2.5%, to $32.32 an ounce.
May copper HGK2 +1.73% added 5 cents, or 1.4%, to $3.69 a pound.
July platinum PLN2 +1.09% gained $6.70, or 0.4%, to $1,592.10 an ounce, while palladium for June delivery PAM2 +2.16% rose $10.30, or 1.6%, to $646.90 an ounce.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
