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"Indian demand should rise rapidly over the next few months, especially with the country's main religious holidays approaching, which should provide an additional boost."

A weaker U.S. currency makes commodities priced in dollars cheaper for holders of other currencies. Investors often use gold as a hedge against financial turmoil and inflation, often triggered by high oil prices.

European equities fell to three-week lows as oil prices revived inflation concern, financial stocks slid and worries about U.S. mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mounted.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week for a second week in a row, the government said, though they continued at levels that showed a weakening labor market.

"Focus is more on the 4-week average and on the continued claims and not on the initial. Stock markets eased after the data -- another supportive factor for gold," Fertig said.

In platinum, palladium and silver, the thinking is also that the recent sell-off has been overdone and that a bounce is due.

But over the longer term, analysts expect platinum's fortunes to be tied to the health of the global car industry, which in recent months has experienced sharply declining sales.

Spot platinum was firmer at $1,444.00/1,464.00 an ounce from $1,368.50/1,388.50 an ounce late on Wednesday.

Earlier, it rose to an intra-day high of $1,450 -- the highest since August 15.

Palladium was higher at $291.50/299.50 from $281/289 and silver rose to $13.79/13.84, up 5 percent, from $13.15/13.21. Silver hit an intra-day high of $13.85 -- the highest since August 15.