NEW YORK: Gold rose 1 percent in a late recovery on Thursday as the dollar fell sharply against the yen and the euro on fears of weak US jobs data that will be released on Friday.
Oil gained on potential supply disruptions, while demand fears sent copper down over 2 percent.
Gold staged a rebound in afternoon trading in New York as investors sold long positions on the greenback - or bets that the US currency will rise - ahead of Friday's all-important US nonfarm payrolls numbers.
Worries over an overbought US equities market also prompted investors to return to precious metals, analysts said.
"We are starting to see investors being nervous about holding equities at these levels going forward, so you are going to see money flow back into the safe-haven markets," said Tom Power, commodities trader at futures brokerage R.J. O'Brien.
The weaker dollar against the euro and yen boosted other commodity markets, including coffee and sugar, and cushioned losses in copper.
A weaker dollar makes metals priced in the US currency cheaper for buyers outside the United States.
Grains garnered support from concerns that a return of wet weather will delay more planting in the US farmbelt.
The Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index closed up 0.4 percent.
Investors braced for the US Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday hoping for insight into the health of the world's biggest economy and clues into whether the Fed will continue its $85 billion-per-month bond buying program.
Jobs likely increased by a lackluster 170,000 in May, suggesting the economy is not ready for the Fed to dial back monetary support, according to a Reuters survey.
OIL UP ON BUZZARD SHUTDOWN
Oil prices rose as Britain's largest oilfield was shut down for the second time in less than a week, and as a major US refinery prepared to restart this month.
US crude's discount to international benchmark North Sea Brent also narrowed after Genscape reported that oil stocks at the major US Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by more than a million barrels between May 31 and June 4.
US crude also garnered support after BP Plc said a unit at the center of a $4 billion revamp of its 405,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery is on schedule to restart by the end of June.
Brent crude oil futures for July settled 57 cents higher at $103.61 a barrel. US oil settled up $1.02 at $94.76 per barrel.
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