Gold futures gained on Wednesday and reached their highest in last three months as investors shifted their focus towards the safe haven status of the precious metal. Gold futures remained low the whole trading session and jumped in last hour which was termed as Bargain hunting by most analysts.

Gold futures contract for April delivery gained 0.7 percent or $12.80 to settle at $1.771.30 per ounce on the Comes division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar index DXY which track the greenback’s movement versus its counterparts gained to 79.207 on Wednesday as compared to 79.023 on Tuesday’s North American trading session. The stronger dollar made gold futures remain lower during the whole trading session however extremely low prices attracted investors in the last hour.

Further, rally of platinum and palladium in reaction to strike in South Africa also helped in boost of gold. South Africa happens to be the biggest exporter of platinum. News of China’s move to reduce the reserve requirements for lenders also helped in appreciation of gold and other metals.

Among other base metals, copper futures for March delivery slightly declined to $3.83 per pound while silver futures for the same month delivery fell $0.18 to settle at $34.25 per pound.

Platinum futures contract for April delivery gained 2.1 percent or $35.90 to $1,720.80 per ounce while its sister metal palladium for March delivery surged 1 percent or $7 to settle at $717.75 per ounce.