SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Gold prices moved up in Asian trade Thursday as euro recovers but stays below $1200 while silver, platinum and palladium bounced higher.

Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1196.45 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while June delivery was at $1197.48 an ounce at the same time.

The precious yellow metal however remained below $50 its record high while the world's largest gold-backed ETF rose to a lifetime high as investors sought safety from turmoil in the financial markets.

SPDR Gold Trust said its holdings rose to 1,220.152 tons as of May 19 from 1,217.108 tons in the previous business day.

Gold hit a record of $1,248.95 on Friday and has gained as much as 14 percent this year. The June contract had fallen four out of the last five sessions after a rally to a record high just shy of $1,250 an ounce last week.

On Wednesday, Gold for June delivery, lost $21.50, or 1.8 per cent, to settle at $1193.10 an ounce on Nymex's Comex division.

Comex July silver falling 76.4 cents, or 4 per cent, to settle at $18.115 an ounce while most actively traded platinum, for July delivery, fell $84.80 to settle at $1605.70 an ounce and June palladium dropped $47.30 to $459.70 an ounce.

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