Gold steadied on Thursday as the other markets showed signs of stabilising, but remained on track for its biggest monthly rise since February in the wake of last week's vote in Britain to quit the European Union. Shares, bonds and currencies plunged on Friday after the British referendum sent investors scurrying for the perceived safety of gold, which leapt to its highest in nearly two years at $1,358.20 an ounce.
But the immediate market flurry over the vote settled on Thursday, with world stock markets rising for a third day and bond yields hovering around record lows. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the central bank would probably need to pump more stimulus into Britain's economy over the summer. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,320.90 an ounce at 3:31 pm EDT (1931 GMT), while US gold futures for August delivery settled down 0.5 percent at $1,320.60.
"For the market, there's more to digest and that means you're not really seeing more long accumulation or capitulation," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist for US Bank Wealth Management in Seattle. Silver is heading for its best quarter in nearly four years, up about 22 percent. Silver was 2.7 percent higher at $18.76 an ounce, having hit $18.80, the highest since September 2014. The gold-silver ratio, which measures the number of silver ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, fell to its lowest in 13 months at 70.4. Platinum was up 2.3 percent at $1,025.60 an ounce, after rising to $1,026.10, the highest since May 20. Palladium was up 1.7 percent at $595.47, after reaching $598.26, the highest since May 13.