US gold futures rose early on Thursday, helped by rebounding Wall Street stocks and crude oil prices, traders said. But volumes were thin, as buyers remained cautious after stock markets dove this week for the second time in a fortnight, pummelling oil prices too.
"You are seeing some light short-covering and some light buying interest re-emerging here," said Steve Platt, analyst at Archer Financials. "The feeling now is that the stock market's fear of a liquidity crunch from subprime loans was probably a little overblown."
At 10:30 am (1430 GMT), most-active gold for April delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $5 at $647.50 an ounce, trading from $644.50 to $648.40.
Volume until 1300GMT was estimated at a light 2,000 lots. US stocks were slightly higher amid enthusiasm over a bid to buy the Chicago Board of Trade. Spot gold rose to $646.30/7.30 an ounce, up from late Wednesday's quote of $643.00/3.75 an ounce. London's late afternoon gold fix stood at $646.10.
COMEX May silver was up 33 cents at $13.16 an ounce. Spot silver stood at $13.06/3.11 an ounce, up from $12.76/2.81 late Wednesday. The London silver fix was $12.90. NYMEX April platinum rose $16 to $1,217 an ounce. Spot platinum stood at $1,214.00/9.00. June palladium climbed $0.30 to $353.80 an ounce. Spot palladium was quoted down at $349.00/4.00 an ounce.