US gold futures rose on Thursday, tracking oil's gains as the market took a breather and looked for trading cues from the relatively calm currency market. August gold up $3.30, or 1.1 percent, at $937.70 an ounce at 10:03 am EDT (1403 GMT) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Ranging from $930.30 to $940.
Inflation-hedge buying boosted gold as crude oil prices rose toward $70 per barrel. Gold rose as the dollar held unchanged against the euro. The greenback rose against other major currencies as worse-than-expected jobless claims data dent risk appetite. The Swiss franc's fall against the euro and dollar as traders cited more talk of the Swiss National Bank intervening to keep the franc weak offered support to bullion.
Gold futures cut gains on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said in its policy statement inflation would be a concern for a while. There is substantive selling in gold between $980-$1000, for that area has stopped gold from advancing several times over the course of the past year, said Dennis Gartman, independent investor and author of the daily Gartman Letter. COMEX estimated 9 am volume at 26,770 lots.
Gold/oil ratio was at 13.47, against 13.60 in the previous session. Spot gold traded at 936.60, up 0.6 percent from its previous session. London gold fix at $937.25 an ounce. July silver up 5.5 cents at $13.965 an ounce, tracking gold's gains. Ranging $13.795 to $13.990. COMEX estimated 9 am volume at 13,555 lots. Spot silver was at $13.96 an ounce, up 0.9 percent from its previous finish. London silver fix at $13.87 an ounce.
July platinum up $11.10 at $1,179.00 an ounce as a higher US stock market raised hopes that the auto-sector demand will recover soon. Spot platinum at $1,176.00 an ounce, up 1.7 percent from its previous session. September palladium up $1.50 at $235 an ounce, taking the lead from platinum. Spot palladium was at $235 an ounce, up 0.6 percent from its previous finish.