Gold rose 1 percent on Thursday, breaking above $1,350 an ounce for the first time in more than a month, on rekindled buying prompted by expectations the Federal Reserve will continue its monetary stimulus due to disappointing US jobless claims data. Bullion prices rallied after the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week.
Spot gold rose 1 percent to $1,345.70 an ounce by 3:43 pm EDT (1943 GMT), having earlier hit $1,351.61, its highest since September 20. US gold futures for December delivery settled up $16.30 an ounce at $1,350.30, with trading volume about 20 percent below their 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data shows.
Heavy positioning in the Comex November $1,400 call options could provide upward pressure for bullion prices. "The $1,400 (call options) have the largest open interest by far, with almost 1.9 million ounces. This could prove a magnet for spot should we continue to rally," TD Securities precious metals trading desk said in a note. Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.8 percent at $22.67 an ounce, while platinum also rose 1.1 percent to $1,445.75 an ounce and palladium inched down 0.1 percent to $743.47 an ounce.
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