Gold Rises for Day Three as Dollar Weakens and Oil Rallies, Silver Tops $14

Gold and silver on Thursday marked a third straight day of gains while platinum rose for day two. Helping the yellow metal was a weakened U.S. dollar, rallying crude-oil prices and a mention of possible Chinese purchases. U.S. stocks returned in a posistive session as well with two percent increases in the major indexes.

In New York trading futures for bullion:

• Silver for July delivery rose 9.5 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $14.005 an ounce.

• Gold for August delivery gained $5.10, or 0.5 percent, to $939.50 an ounce.

• July platinum jumped $23.10, or 2.3 percent, to $1,191.00 an ounce.

"It is likely that China will buy further gold over the coming months and years, as, in contrast to other countries, gold still accounts for only a small proportion of China’s entire foreign exchange reserves," analysts at Commerzbank quoted on MarketWatch said.

In London bullion, the benchmark gold price was set earlier in the day to $937.25 an ounce, which was $3.75 higher than the fixing on Wednesday. Silver fell a penny to $13.87 an ounce. Platinum was fixed $3.00 higher to $1,176.00.

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 passed over $70 Thursday "after militants attacked a key pipeline in Nigeria, the fifth largest oil exporter to the U.S.," writes Moming Zhou and Myra P. Saefong of MarketWatch.

New York crude-oil for August delivery surged $1.56, or 2.3 percent, to close at $70.23 a barrel.

In a trend unlikely to continue, prices at the pump on Thursday declined for a third straight day. The national average for unleaded gasoline fell nine-tenths of a cent to $2.667 a gallon, according to a AAA report. The price is 1.8 cents lower than a week ago but still 24.2 cents higher than last month.

U.S. Stocks

U.S. stocks rallied "after a week of choppy trading, as investors scooped up a variety of shares hit in the recent selloff — including commodity, consumer, homebuilding and tech issues," writes Alexandra Twin of CNNMoney.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 172.54 points, or 2.08 percent, to 8,472.40. The S&P 500 Index rose 19.33 points, or 2.15 percent, to 920.26. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 37.20 points, or 2.08 percent, to 1,829.54.

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.