US gold futures rose early on Thursday, mainly on continued dollar weakness against the euro and some institutional buying, traders said. Other precious metals lost ground, including platinum, which fell more than 1 percent, wiping out gains from the day before.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, benchmark December gold was up $1.60 at $444.30 an ounce at 10:06 am EDT, trading within a range of $441.20 to $444.80.
Summer vacations have kept gold trading a bit thinner recently and COMEX estimated volume was around 10,000 contracts at 9 am. Spot gold was changing hands at $438.40/439.20, up from $436.35/437.05 in New York on Wednesday.
"We have been seeing some fund buying," said one trader at an international bank. "The technicals look good and $437 is healthy, but some resistance levels to $456, which is where it was last December.
"It could be difficult to get to the next level, but there is room for investors if it breaks through $456," said the trader, who requested anonymity. He said the weak dollar continued to be supportive of gold.
October delivery platinum fell back $10.60 to $907.50 an ounce, after soaring $11.10 to $918.10 on Wednesday. Spot platinum traded at $902/908, down from $912/918 on Wednesday.
Gold and platinum companies in South Africa, the biggest bullion producer in the world, face the first country-wide strike in 18 years after wage talks broke down with miners' unions.
September silver slipped to $7.265 an ounce at 10:08 am from $7.307 an ounce on Wednesday, while spot silver hit $7.22/7.25, from $7.27/7.30 on Wednesday. September palladium fell $2 to $194.50 an ounce, with spot at $191/195, down from $193/197 the day before.