Precious metals hit their strongest levels of the year Thursday, although gold eventually gave back all of its gains due to a turn lower in crude oil and a rise in Treasury yields.

February gold settled a dime lower at $648.10 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver rose 21.7 cents to $13.49.

Fund buying occurred in both metals, reported Michael Gross, broker and futures analyst with Liberty Trading.

February gold peaked at $654.80 in screen trading, its most muscular levels since Dec. 1. March silver peaked at $13.60, its strongest levels since Dec. 15.

From there, however, gold slid back late in the day.

April platinum settled up $14.90 at $1,188 an ounce. March palladium gained $6.30 to $355.45 an ounce. April platinum posted an electronic high of $1,190.10 that was its strongest level since Nov. 30. March palladium got as high as $356.85 in screen trading, its strongest level since Sept. 7.

The most active March copper contract rose 5.30 cents to settle at $2.6545 per pound. Nearby January gained 5.10 cents to $2.6395.