US gold futures tracked the currency and energy markets to trade near unchanged on Thursday, retreating from a one-week high early following a US interest rate cut and an initial slide of the dollar. December up $1.40 at $755.40 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:32 am EDT (1432 GMT).
Futures traded at a low of $751.30 and peaked at $778.30, which marked the strongest price since October 21. Gold whipsawed between a slightly lower dollar and weaker crude oil prices. Bullion's early session rally fizzed as the dollar reversed initial decline against the euro but fell against other major currencies.
Gold also supported by fresh buying after the Federal Reserve cut key interest rates by half a percentage point to 1 percent. Deleveraging in commodity markets will continue as investors sell into temporary short-term rallies, said John Reade, UBS precious metal analyst. Gold could benefit from a positive directional correlation between gold and emerging market assets, said HSBC metals analyst James Steel.
COMEX estimated 9 am volume at 40,370 lots, and options turnover at 2,453 lots. Spot gold quoted at $753.50 an ounce, slightly lower than Wednesday's close of $754.30. December up 7.5 cents to $9.880 an ounce, following gold's slim gains. December scaled a one-week high of $10.645 an ounce.
Signs of recovery of the stock markets bolstered industrial metals, such as silver and copper. COMEX estimated 9 am volume at 6,667 lots. Spot silver at $9.88 an ounce, up from Wednesday close of $9.82. NYMEX January platinum up $21.40, or 2.6 percent, to $838 an ounce, as fears of a global recession lessened due to higher stock markets.
Platinum will probably languish with the global economy for some time, but is attractively priced for the longer term, said UBS. Spot platinum fetched $815.50 an ounce. December palladium up $2.90, or 1.5 percent, to $200 an ounce. Spot palladium fetched $194.50.