Gold rose slightly on Wednesday as short-covering helped the metal recover some of the previous session's losses, but waning interest from investment funds and an improving US economic outlook impeded gains. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,652.84 by 2:24 pm EST (1824 GMT).
US gold futures for April delivery settled up $3.30 at $1,650.30 an ounce, with trading volume 20 percent below its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed. The metal has now fallen almost $150 an ounce from a February 29 peak of $1,790, driven by growing confidence that the US economy is poised for a recovery and that Greece has averted a chaotic default. Silver was up 0.3 percent at $32.20 an ounce. Spot palladium was down 0.7 percent on the day at $683.97 an ounce, while platinum fell 0.5 percent to $1,639.50 an ounce.