Precious metals inched up on Thursday on the back of weakness in dollar against the basket of currencies. The rise in crude oil prices triggered inflationary concerns and provided further support to Gold as investors took fresh positions in it as a hedge against inflation.

Gold futures closed up 0.45 percent in the last trading session on MCX. Silver outperformed Gold on MCX, rising by 0.54 percent and ending the day at Rs. 22491 per kg.

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings fell 0.5 percent to 1,125.74 tonnes as of June 25, down 5.5 tonnes from the previous business day.

The U. S. government said the number of U. S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week unexpectedly jumped by 15,000 to a higher-than-forecast
627,000.

A report showed that U. S. gross domestic product contracted at an annual 5.5 percent rate in January-March compared to the previously reported 5.7 percent.

The dollar fell against most major currencies on Thursday, tracking a change in U. S. stocks, which rose as investors expressed optimism that economic deterioration was ebbing.

Inflationary concerns due to rising commodity prices and weaker dollar seem to be supporting bullions. Despite subdued retail and investment demand, precious metals are moving up and trend for the day remains up. We recommend staying long in bullions.