U.S. gold returned to positive territory on Thursday, rising to a fresh two-month high and above $1,253 an ounce — less than a half percentage away from its all time high.
In a change from the last few days, all precious metals gained. Silver ended up 1.4 percent while platinum and palladium both advanced 1.0 percent.
In other markets, crude oil prices rose for a second straight day while U.S. stocks finished higher after registering their best day in two months.
New York precious metals closing prices follow:
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Gold for December delivery gained $5.30, or 0.4 percent, to $1,253.40 an ounce. It ranged from $1,245.30 to $1,255.20.
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September silver rose 27.9 cents to $19.672 an ounce. It ranged between $19.345 and $19.715.
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Platinum for October delivery climbed $15.80 to end at $1,551.50 an ounce. It ranged from $1,531.00 to $1,559.90.
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Palladium for December delivery advanced $5.15 to $525.25 an ounce. It ranged between $515.40 and $526.05.
In notable bullion quotes of the day:
"Monthly ETF inflows turned positive in August; these need to accelerate for gold to overcome potential scrap supply at these prices and rise sustainably through $1,250," Swiss bank UBS said in a report.
"Gold is continuing its slow and steady advance," Frank Lesh, a broker with FuturePath Trading in Chicago, said and was quoted on MarketWatch. "There’s still a need for safety, for something that will maintain its value in these uncertain times."
"Judging by both gold and the Dow, the waiting game is all about Friday’s figures on the jobs front at this point," noted Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc. "That number, plus pre-long-weekend book-squaring jousts will likely make for a fun Friday for some markets."
In PM London bullion, the benchmark gold price was fixed to $1,248.50 an ounce, rising $2.00 from the PM price on Wednesday. Silver lost 2 cents to $19.450 an ounce. Platinum settled at $1,550.00 an ounce, adding $19.00. Palladium edged up $1.50 to $521.00 an ounce.
In United States Mint gold coin news, the U.S. Mint issued Buchanan’s Liberty Gold Coins at noon ET on Thursday. The .9999 fine gold pieces are the 16th in a series which began in 2007. Buyers may purchase the 1/2 oz proof coins for $779 and the 1/2 oz uncirculated coins for $766.
Oil and gasoline prices
New York crude oil for October delivery added $1.11, or 1.5 percent, to $75.02 a barrel.
"We’re rallying because of the explosion on the oil platform," Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks and Opinions LLC in Houston, said and was quoted on Bloomberg. "It’s clear that the government now has the ammunition to move ahead with a drilling moratorium. There will be higher costs and a slowdown in production from the Gulf."
The national average for regular unleaded gasoline fell two-tenth of a cent to $2.676 a gallon, according to AAA fuel data. The price is 1.2 cents lower than a week ago, a half penny down from a month back, but 7.4 cents higher than the price from a year ago.
U.S. Stocks
Better-than-expected pending home sales data was cited in lifting U.S. stocks, but trepidation was in play as investors await Friday’s jobs report.
"Better housing sales, that’s encouraged people," John Carey, Boston-based money-manager at Pioneer Investment Management, which oversees about $230 billion, said and was quoted on Bloomberg. "The economy is still growing, if slowly, and it would be nice to see some progress on the unemployment."
The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 50.63 points, or 0.49 percent, to 10,320.10. The S&P 500 Index climbed 9.81 points, or 0.91 percent, to 1,090.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 23.17 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 2,200.01.
