Gold, Silver Prices Surge

Gold and silver roared back to life Thursday following the previous day’s trouncing. Precious metals were kicked forward by a dipping U.S. dollar and oil soaring toward $70 a barrel. U.S. stocks rallied on the day as well.

In New York trading futures for bullion:

• Silver for July delivery soared 58.5 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $15.895 an ounce. The metal reached as high as $15.925 and had a low of $15.065.

• Gold for August rose $16.70, or 1.7 percent, to $982.30 an ounce.

• July platinum surged $48.80, or 3.9 percent, to $1,293.30 an ounce.

"Even before the first rebound was seen in the NBA finals, it was time for it to be a rebound day for the precious metals complex," writes Jon Nadler, Sr. analyst at Kitco.com. "This, following a one-day pullback that was largely dollar and oil-driven. Thursday’s recovery was also clearly related to the big comeback in black gold."

"Given background fears of inflation and fiat currency devaluation, the metal will continue to be viewed favorably by investors," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, was quoted on Bloomberg. "We doubt it will be long before gold tests the high from February."

In spot bullion, the benchmark London gold fix price declined $6.00 to $970.75 an ounce. Silver fell 67 cents to $15.30 an ounce. Platinum was fixed $3.00 higher to $1,250.00.

Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.

Oil and gasoline prices

Oil prices surged as "upbeat U.S. jobless-claims data and a bullish oil price forecast issued by Goldman Sachs boosted sentiment among energy investors," writes Polya Lesova and Myra P. Saefong from MarketWatch.

New York crude-oil for July delivery jumped $3.03, or 4.6 percent, to close at $69.15 a barrel.

Gasoline prices at the pump soared higher Thursday. AAA said the national average for unleaded gasoline rose 2.4 cents following Wednesday’s 2.3 cent gain. The price per gallon is now $2.572, which is 12.3 cents higher than a week ago and 49.3 cents higher than last month.

U.S. Stocks

After loosing steam Wednesday, U.S. stocks advanced Thursday as energy and financial shares rallied.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 73.66 points, or 0.85 percent, to close at 8,748.94. The S&P 500 Index climbed 10.44 points, or 1.12 percent, to 942.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 24.10 points, or 1.32 percent, to 1,850.02.

Check out additional market resources at Live Bullion Spots, the Silver Coin Melt Calculator, U.S. Mint Collector Bullion Price Guide, and the Inflation Calculator.