US gold futures ended higher amid thin trade on Monday as the dollar weakened and platinum rose more than 4 percent on fund buying and signs of recovering Chinese demand. Gold for June delivery settled up $12.50, or 1.4 percent, at $895.80 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
GOLD: Ranged from $882.90 to $901.20 an ounce. Trading volume remained thin as markets in the United Kingdom and most European countries, Australia and Hong Kong were shut for the Easter holiday on Monday. Spot gold traded at $891.65 at 2:58 pm EDT (1958 GMT), up 1.3 percent from its late Friday quote of $880.65 in New York.
SILVER: COMEX May silver ended up 43.8 cents, or 3.6 percent, at $12.768 an ounce, tracking precious metals strength. Ranged between $12.350 and $12.870 an ounce. Spot silver was at $12.67 an ounce, up 2.8 percent from its previous finish of $12.32.
PLATINUM: NYMEX July platinum finished up $51.70, or 4.3 percent, at $1,247.00 an ounce on optimism that China's autocatalyst demand will rise. China's Premier Wen Jiabao said the country's economy is in a better shape than expected with March industrial output growth exceeding forecasts. China said new lending and money supply growth both surged to record highs in March as banks expanded their credit to rejuvenate the economy. PGMs are used in catalytic converters to clean exhaust fumes for vehicles.
Technical buying from investment funds because of sharply higher spreads between platinum and gold prices seen - D'Esposito. Spot platinum jumped to $1,235.00 an ounce, up 2.5 percent from its late Friday quote of 1,204.50.
PALLADIUM: June palladium closed up $11.25, or 4.9 percent, at $242.35 an ounce, following platinum's rally. Spot palladium was at $237.50 an ounce, up 1.7 percent from its previous finish of $233.50.