US gold futures edged up to hover around an eight-day peak on Wednesday morning, lifted by increased inflation concerns and a weaker dollar against the euro, dealers said.
December delivery gold was up 10 cents at $474.80 an ounce at 10:33 am EDT at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, trading from $473.20 to $476.10 - its highest mark since October 18.
Gold, silver and platinum group metals got a boost across the board from speculative interest and fund buying over the past day, with prices spiking up as investors steadily deposited new money into hard assets such as commodities.
After gold futures jumped 1.7 percent on Tuesday, palladium in New York hit a 14-month high Wednesday while platinum was near a 25-year peak in London, following in the yellow metal's wake. Silver held steady just shy of a 10-month peak.
"The market is steady, with a good tone from the Far East - London didn't really do much with gold today - and, although things are reasonably quiet here, we're expecting the price to stay on the firm side," said a New York trader at a precious metals desk.
UBS analyst John Reade said a concentration of strike prices at $465 on COMEX and high OTC open interest at $475 should keep the spot price between these levels for the next day.
Spot gold inched up to $472.40/473.10 an ounce from the prior New York closing quote at $472.20/3.00. Wednesday's afternoon fix in London by bullion dealers was at $473.20.
Estimated COMEX volume was a moderate 14,000 lots by 10 am.
December silver gained 6.0 cents to $7.885 an ounce, dealing from $7.82 to $7.925. Prices appeared to be targeting 10-month highs atop $8, traders said.
Spot silver was at $7.83/86 an ounce versus Tuesday's close at $7.78/81. It fixed higher on the day at $7.83.
NYMEX January platinum rose $1.40 to $947 an ounce. Spot platinum fetched $940/944.
December palladium surged $3.95 to $225.50 an ounce, the highest level for futures on a spot continuation basis since August 2004. Spot hit $220/224.