Gold futures ended slightly lower on Thursday but the metal pared the losses it posted earlier as the dollar weakened and rising oil prices also gave the metal a lift as a potential inflation hedge.

Silver futures outperformed gold on Comex, ending the day in the positive territory. It gained 1.55 and 1.28 percent on Comex and MCX respectively.

The dollar index declined on Thursday after data showed the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week.

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings stood at 1,077.63 tonnes, unchanged since Sept 4.

India's spot gold prices fell on Thursday as buyers stayed away from the market during an inauspicious phase and on higher prices, dealers said.

The Fed will remain under pressure to maintain a stimulative monetary policy with low real interest rates for some time. That's bad news for the dollar and inflation but music to the ears of gold bulls.

ETF Securities said holdings of its London palladium-backed exchange-traded fund rose 5.5 percent to a record 477,766 ounces, while its gold and silver-backed products also recorded inflows.

U. S. Initial claims and jobless continued claims for the week ended showed that less number filed for jobless benefits as the numbers turned out to be better than expected.

Gold is holding on to the levels of $995 per ounce. We do not see any major downside in today’s session. Any decline in gold can be seen as a buying opportunity. Silver looks good for the day. We recommend buying silver.