Gold futures contract gained on Thursday in reaction to weakening US dollar. The gold futures contract for April delivery gained 1 percent or $16.60 to settle at $1.659.90 per ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Head of research, William Adams from FastmMarkets commented, “there is a risk of further weakness, but equally we would not be surprised if bargain hunters start to provide support and if prices start to move higher, then follow-through buying may well follow.”

Falling US dollar also supported the gold futures as the US dollar index DXY which measures the greenback’s performance against its six major rival currencies fell to 80.156 on Thursday as compared to 80.596 on Wednesday’s North American trading session. The greenback was despite positive US economic data as jobless claims declined by 14,000 in the last week according to the US Labor Department.

Among other metals, silver futures contract for May delivery gained 1.7 percent or $0.55 to settle at $32.73 per ounce while copper futures for the same month advanced 1.3 percent or $0.55 to $32.73 per ounce.

Platinum futures contract April delivery surged 0.5 percent or $8.60 to settle at $1,683.90 per ounce while its sister metal palladium futures contract for June delivery soared 1.8 percent or $12.45 to $709.90 per ounce on NYMEX.