Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed higher on Thursday, retreating from another all-time high as dollar bounced. Silver and platinum both fell.

The most active gold contract for February delivery rose US$5.30, or 0.5 percent, to finish at US$1,218.30 an ounce.

In the overnight electronic session, the yellow metal touched a historic peak of US$1,227.50, pushed by a weak dollar which headed for a 15-month low.

After the peak, the dollar recovered quickly as the European Central Bank announced that it keeps its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1 percent for the seventh straight month. Earlier in the day session, the dollar index, a gauge measuring the greenback's value against the other major currencies, rose to 74.795 from an intraday low of 74.36, weighing the precious metal to give up some earlier gains.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its 12-month gold forecast to US$1,350 an ounce, from a previous estimate of US$960. The metal will average US$1,265 an ounce next year.

On the economic front, the jobless claims unexpectedly showed a modest decrease compared to the previous week. The Labor Department said that initial jobless claims edged down to 457,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 462,000. This number is well below economists' expectations of 480,000.

March silver was down US$19.7 cents to US$19.128 per ounce. January platinum dropped US$12.60 to US$1,493.70 an ounce.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2009)