Gold prices rose on Thursday on investors’ expectations to see if the international community would agree to a "no-fly" zone for Libya, while holdings in the world's largest silver exchange-traded fund struck a record high, reflecting greater interest in the cheaper precious metal.
Bullion traders remain focused on mounting unrest across the Arab world and renewed concern about euro zone debt -- factors that sent prices to an all-time high above $1,440 this week. Platinum and palladium were firmer but falling equities were likely to weigh on sentiment.
Spot gold added $1.20 an ounce to $1,429.99 an ounce by 0707 GMT, having struck a record high of $1,444.40 on Monday.
NATO and the European Union begin two days of talks on Libya on Thursday, focusing on a possible "no-fly" zone after some of the fiercest fighting on the ground in almost three weeks of clashes.
"Another factor that could see gold and silver higher would be the return of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis. Investors will be looking forward to euro zone policy makers' meeting this Friday. If there's no resolution, perhaps we could see a new high," said Ong Yi Ling, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"I think there's an increase in investment interest in silver with gold hitting new record highs. Silver is commonly perceived as the poor man's gold."
U.S. gold futures for April traded around $1,429.6 an ounce. The contract hit record at $1,445.70 on Monday, mainly due to unrest in North Africa and the Middle East that sent oil prices higher.
Precious metals prices 0707 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1429.99 1.20 +0.08 0.74
Spot Silver 36.06 0.01 +0.03 16.85
Spot Platinum 1798.75 2.26 +0.13 1.77
Spot Palladium 779.00 2.03 +0.26 -2.56
TOCOM Gold 3818.00 5.00 +0.13 2.39 40676
TOCOM Platinum 4872.00 -8.00 -0.16 3.75 9917
TOCOM Silver 95.50 0.10 +0.10 17.90 1050
TOCOM Palladium 2084.00 -31.00 -1.47 -0.62 273
Euro/dollar 1.3847
Dollar/Yen 82.89
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.