Gold and silver powered to levels last seen in April on Thursday, with fund interest spurring the market amid dollar weakness, dealers said.
Spot gold stood at $405.60/406.10 per troy ounce by 1503 GMT - last seen in mid April - compared with $402.00/402.75 in New York on Wednesday.
Silver followed suit, spiking 3.2 percent to $6.30/6.32 from $6.10/6.13 previously.
The euro rose briefly above $1.24 as a strong US jobless claims report failed to alter the market's bearish sentiment on the US currency, making dollar-priced gold less expensive for non-US investors.
The single currency was at $1.2389, up from $1.2346 in late US trade.
Gold has swung wildly in recent days, with the market losing around two percent on Tuesday, before jumping 2.5 percent on Wednesday when buy orders were triggered as players tracked the euro's sharp gains against the dollar.
Thin summer trading conditions have sharpened the moves, dealers said.
"I think the market is going to remain volatile," HSBC metals analyst Allan Williamson said.
Dealers and analysts said continuing strength in the euro, which makes dollar-denominated gold cheaper for non-US investors, would leave the metal primed for further gains.
"The positive factor is that the euro continues to strengthen, and we're looking for it to go through $1.24 and to $1.25, which would be supportive of higher gold prices," Williamson added.
James Moore of TheBullionDesk.com said in a daily report that a break higher by the euro would suggest a test to the $412-15 area.
In other metals, platinum prices moved above $800 to touch its highest in two weeks, led by technical buying in Asian trade.
Spot platinum was last at $806.00/811.00, after hitting a high of $809.00, compared with $793.00/798.00 quoted in New York late on Wednesday.
Dealers said the rise seemed to be purely speculative as industrial buyers were not prepared to come in at current levels.
"Resistance should be found around $815, while support should be found around $795-800," Moor said.
Palladium was barely changed at $220.00/225.00 from $220.50/226.50 previously.

Copyright Reuters, 2004

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