Gold futures surged 2% on Thursday, recouping all it lost in the past three sessions and more after the dollar’s tumble sent investors toward the other safe-haven of choice.
The dollar slumped against its rivals after data showed U.S. manufacturing activity fell to a six-month low. A surge in sterling also weighed on the greenback.
Gold for December delivery rose $23.60 to settle at $1,238.60 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
That was slightly over the cumulative $20.80, or 1.7%, it lost in the last three sessions as investors cashed in gains of the past four weeks that came as gold benefited from a rout in equities and a shaky dollar.
On Thursday, the dollar index retreated from 16-month highs of the previous session. But shares on Wall Street rose for a third-straight day on Thursday, helped by upbeat company earnings and President Donald Trump’s remarks that talks with China were "moving along nicely.”
Some investors are also getting into gold as a hedge against a possible Democratic victory in U.S. midterm elections due on Nov. 6.
In other precious metals trading on COMEX, Silver futures rose 3.7% to $14.76 a troy ounce by 3:26 PM ET (19:26 GMT).
Palladium rose 1.2% to $1,081.10 an ounce, while sister metal Platinum traded up 2.4% to $863.10.
Among base metals, COMEX Copper climbed 2.2% to $2.72 a pound.
