Gold edged up on Thursday as the dollar and stock markets retreated, locking in the metal's biggest quarterly gain in nearly 30 years amid reduced expectations for US interest rate hikes. The metal is highly exposed to rising rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, while boosting the dollar. Gold fell 10 percent last year ahead of the first US rate increase in nearly a decade in December.
Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,232.06 an ounce at by 2:55 pm EDT (1855 GMT). US gold futures settled up $7 an ounce at $1,235.60. The dollar index slipped to a 5-1/2 month low earlier in the session, sending gold up as much as 1.2 percent. World stocks fell for the first time in four days on Thursday as a roller-coaster quarter drew to a close.
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