Gold futures edged higher on Thursday, trading $912 an ounce, on speculation that central banks will mimic the U.S. by cut borrowing rates which boosted the appeal of the precious metal.

Gold futures for April delivery gained $7.60 to $912.60 an ounce at 1:32 p.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price earlier touched $915.20.

The Bank of England cut its benchmark lending rate 0.25 percentage point to 5.25 percent today, for the second time since December. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank hinted it may lower rates later this year. Gold rose 31 percent last year as the Federal Reserve cut borrowing costs to avoid a recession.

The ECB kept rates unchanged at 4 percent. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said in a statement that there is unusually high uncertainty'' about economic growth in the region. This added to already persisting raising speculation the bank may lower borrowing costs later this year.

Also on Nymex, March silver moved 9 cents higher to $16.64 an ounce, while April platinum rose $7.50 to $1,826.50 an ounce and March copper gained 1.35 cents to $3.3225 a pound. March palladium dropped $3.45 to $420 an ounce.

Silver futures for March delivery gained 26 cents to $16.81 an ounce. Before today, the metal climbed 11 percent this year.

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