Gold steadied on Thursday as a retreat in the dollar from 12-year highs arrested its eight-session slide, though speculation that US interest rates could rise sooner rather than later kept prices under pressure. The dollar fell from a fresh high in early US trading on Thursday after a surprise drop in US retail sales in February.
Spot gold was up 0.05 percent at $1,154.65 an ounce at 2:23 pm EDT (1823 GMT), while US gold futures for April delivery settled up $1.30 an ounce at $1,151.90. Earlier spot prices reached a high of $1,166.30 an ounce, but retreated as US stocks climbed at the open. Gold fell to its lowest since December 1 on Wednesday at $1,147.10 an ounce in an eighth session of losses, its longest drop since March 2009.
Spot platinum hit its lowest in 5-1/2 years at $1,108.50 an ounce. "Retail sales this morning were weaker than expected and have cast some doubt as to the timing of the Fed rate increase, which was perceived by many to be a June certainty just yesterday," said Steve Scacalossi, director and head of sales for global metals at TD Securities in New York. Silver was up 0.5 percent at $15.54 an ounce and spot palladium was up 0.1 percent at $787.70 an ounce.
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