Gold for December delivery was up $4 at $623.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as high as $624.80, the contract's strongest intraday level since Sept. 7. Prices climbed $12.50, or 2.1%, on Wednesday.
Gold's close Wednesday "above the 100 & 200-day [moving average] and clearance of the $608-$612 chart congestion leaves the metal well placed for further gains with upside resistance pegged at $625 and potentially $645," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com
But that's "barring any sudden collapse in the price of oil or surge in the dollar from tomorrow's non-farm payrolls reading," he said in a note to clients.
Gold found support as The dollar fell against the euro and yen. The U.S. Labor Department report showed lower than expected productivity growth in the third quarter and the European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold as expected.
Rounding out action in the metals pit Thursday, December silver futures climbed 13.5 cents to $12.61 an ounce after rising more than 20 cents in the previous session.
January platinum was up $28.30 at $1,129 an ounce, extending Wednesday's over $14 gain, while December palladium rose $2.70 to trade at $326.80 an ounce.
