Prices for gold inched higher on Thursday on a weak American dollar amid improving risk sentiment on hopes that the novel coronavirus pandemic is nearing a peak.
Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,647.94 U.S. per ounce early Thursday morning, having hit a four-week high of $1,671.40 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,683.40 per ounce.
Trading volumes have tapered off over the past 24 hours as risk sentiment has stabilized and started to improve.
The greenback was little changed after slipping 0.1% against key rivals earlier in the session. It is down 0.6% so far this week.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday efforts at social distancing were working in getting the virus under control, even though the hardest-hit state in America reported its highest number of deaths in a single day.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s disease monitoring agency said there was no sign yet that the peak of the region’s outbreak had been reached.
Among other metals, palladium rose 0.1% to $2,176.73 U.S. per ounce, while platinum gained 0.1% to $730.15 U.S. per ounce, having touched a more than three-week high on Wednesday.
Silver climbed 0.1% to $15.06 U.S. per ounce, having touched a more than three-week high on Tuesday.