Gold rose on Wednesday as the dollar slipped against the euro and on strong global manufacturing data, while analysts said profit-taking could pressure the precious metal after its biggest January gain in 32 years. Spot gold added 0.4 percent at $1,744.16 an ounce by 2:55 pm EST (1955 GMT).
US gold futures for April delivery settled up $9.10 at $1,749.50 an ounce. Trading volume was slower than its recent pace and about 70 percent below the 30-day average. Platinum rose 1.7 percent on the day to $1,612.24 an ounce, while palladium gained 1.3 percent to $689.53 an ounce.