Gold rose 1 percent to a four-month high above $1,670 an ounce on Thursday, bolstered by hopes for a new round of US monetary stimulus and news that Spain is negotiating conditions for a possible aid package. Silver surged 2 percent and platinum group metals also climbed on supply concerns due to labour unrest in South Africa.
Spot gold gained 0.9 percent to $1,668.70 an ounce by 2:25 pm EDT (1825 GMT), having risen 3.5 percent so far this week. That put gold on track to post its largest monthly rise since January's 11 percent increase. US gold futures for December delivery settled up $32.30 at $1,672.80 an ounce. Trading volume looked set to challenge its highest in almost a month, preliminary Reuters data showed. Silver rose 2.2 percent to $30.49 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,536.75 an ounce and palladium was up 3.5 percent at $650.75 an ounce.