Gold, Silver Climb as US Dollar Falls

Gold turned higher Thursday as the U.S. dollar stumbled against world currencies. Silver tracked with gold while platinum fell slightly. In other markets, oil surged for a third day and U.S. stocks marked modest gains.

In New York trading futures for bullion:

• Silver for July delivery jumped 26.8 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $15.493 an ounce. The intraday low was $14.925 while the high reached $15.54.

• Gold for August rose $7.30, or 0.8 percent, to $962.00 an ounce. The yellow metal ranged from $942.50 to 963.20.

• July platinum lost 10 cents to $1,273.10 an ounce.

"Gold has reasons to rally," Stephen Platt, an Archer Financial Services Inc. commodity analyst in Chicago, was quoted on Bloomberg. "The dollar is pretty risky to be in… Chinese demand for gold seems to be better than expected." Platt predicts the metal will reach $990 in "a couple of weeks."

In London bullion, the benchmark gold price was set earlier in the day to $947.50 an ounce, which was $6.25 lower than Wednesday. Silver fell 30 cents to $15.09 an ounce. Platinum was fixed $14.00 lower to $1,253.00.

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 on Thursday surged above $73 a barrel following the Energy Information Administration (EIA) monthly report forecasting higher global demand for oil.

"The IEA is the latest sign the historic drop in global oil demand may be bottoming out and changing course," Phil Flynn, vice president at Alaron Trading, was quoted on MarketWatch. "This adds to the bullish momentum created in the aftermath of yesterdays supply report."

New York crude-oil for July delivery later retreated from $73 to settle at $72.68 a barrel, rising on the day by $1.35, or 1.9 percent.

In news for U.S. consumers, AAA said the average price of gasoline increased by a half cent to $2.632 a gallon — 6 cents higher than a week ago and 38.4 cents more than last month.

U.S. Stocks

U.S. stocks ended slightly higher. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 31.90 points, or 0.37 percent, to 8,770.92. The S&P 500 Index climbed 5.74 points, or 0.61 percent, to 944.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9.29 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,862.37.

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.