COMEX gold rose to a 3-1/2-week high early Thursday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and inflation worries on the surge in oil prices toward recent all-time highs.
Even as speculation mounted that the detrimental rise in energy costs will lead to Federal Reserve restraint in tightening monetary policy further, this week's rise in crude prices above $48 a barrel has kept the spectre of inflation, and interest in gold as a hedge, alive.
At 9:14 a.m. EDT (1314 GMT), December gold was up $3.50 at $412.50 an ounce, trading from $408.40 to $413.00 which marked its highest since August 31.
"We had a little lift in the euro, which we followed a little bit. The crude was just about flat when we rallied," said a floor broker. "There were some stops that got elected in there. It looked like more fund business coming in lightly."
Spot gold was quoted at $409.95/0.70, up from Wednesday's late level at $406.75/7.50. London's morning fix was $408.05.
COMEX December silver was up 4.0 cents at $6.415 an ounce, touching $6.365 and $6.45. Spot silver was at $6.36/39, up from $6.33/36. The fix was $6.39.
NYMEX October platinum was up $7.50 at $855.00 an ounce. Spot platinum fetched $846.00/850.00.
December palladium was up $5.30 at $215.00 an ounce. Spot palladium was priced $210.00/214.00.