Gold rose for a seventh day on Thursday after minutes from the US Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting gave an unexpectedly clear signal that the central bank may take additional measures to boost the economy. Platinum gained 1.1 percent, rising for a sixth day to a 3-1/2 month high, lifted by ongoing tension in some of the mines in top producer South Africa, where 44 people have died in clashes between striking workers and police.
Gold has more than doubled in value since the Fed first resorted to buying Treasuries to pin down interest rates and encourage growth in late 2008. This year it has struggled to remain in positive territory in the absence of any clear commitment from the US central bank to resume the practice.
Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,663.80 an ounce by 1332 GMT, having risen 3 percent so far this week. That has put the price on track for a 3.1 percent gain in August, which would be the largest monthly gain since January's 11 percent increase. "The default action has changed from do nothing to do something," Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie said. "This means that we can expect to see some action soon, but the latest minutes imply the Jackson Hole and the September 12-13 meetings are not likely to see QE3 launched.
Gold extended gains on Thursday after data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, suggesting the labour market is healing too slowly to dent the unemployment rate. Expectations are also running high that the European Central Bank will act to support more indebted members of the euro zone, such as Spain and Italy, which have seen their borrowing costs rise to around their highest since the euro's launch in 1999. Gold priced in euros rose for a seventh day by 0.5 percent to 1,326.47 euros an ounce and is now less than 4 percent below last September's record of 1,373.92 euros.
Holdings of gold in exchange-traded funds hit a record 71.24 million ounces by Wednesday's close, having risen by more than 600,000 ounces this week so far, marking the largest weekly rise since early February. Other precious metals rose with gold, with silver up 2.7 percent at $30.62 an ounce. The metal is on track to rise 9.3 percent this week, its biggest weekly gain since October 2011.
Platinum rose 0.7 percent to $1,541.99 an ounce, having touched a session peak of $1,558.49, its highest since May after a strike that started last week at world number three producer Lonmin's Marikana mine erupted into deadly violence. "The production issues in South Africa so far may not be enough to turn this year's surplus into a deficit," HSBC analysts said in a note, referring to the overhang of metal that may exceed demand by as much as 400,000 ounces this year. Palladium was up 2.4 percent at $643.97 an ounce.
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