US gold futures finished sharply higher on Thursday on the back of flight-to-quality buying despite a strong dollar, but weak physical bullion demand could still cap recent gains below $900 an ounce. Gold for April delivery settled up $16.50, or 1.9 percent, at $906.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
GOLD: Ranged $875.70 to $909.50. COMEX estimated 1:00 pm EST (1800 GMT) volume at 172,869 lots and options turnover at 8,454 lots. Spot gold was at $906.30 an ounce at 2:55 pm, up 2.3 percent from the last trade on Wednesday.
SILVER: March ended up 18.2 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $12.145 an ounce in light, mixed trade, tracking gold's turnaround. Ranged $11.635 to $12.030. COMEX estimated 1:00 am volume at 16,567 lots. Spot silver quoted at $12.16 an ounce, up 1.8 percent from its previous close.
PLATINUM: NYMEX April platinum finished up $12.00, or 1.3 percent, at $974.90 an ounce on optimism after the US Congress approved President Barack Obama's $825 billion economic stimulus package. Spot platinum quoted at $964.00 an ounce, up 1.1 percent from its last finish.
PALLADIUM: NYMEX March palladium closed down 10 cents at $190.90 an ounce on profit taking after initial enthusiasm that autocatalyst demand would soon recover. Spot palladium was at $189.50 an ounce, up 0.8 percent from its previous close on Wednesday.