Gold rebounded in thin Asian trade Thursday despite a strong dollar while palladium dropped nearly four percent.

Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $ 1199.17 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore time while US gold futures for December delivery was at $1202.2 an ounce.

Analysts said the precious yellow metal advanced on bargain hunting after a drop the previous day while falling stock markets could still prompt investors to sell bullion to cover losses.

Meanwhile, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings rose to 1285.787 tones by Aug. 11 from 1282.746 tones on Aug. 5. The holdings hit a record at 1320.436 tones on June 29.

The dollar continued to firm on Thursday, after scoring its biggest daily gain for nearly two years the previous day, as concerns about the U.S. and global economies triggered a wave of unwinding in short dollar positions.

Weaker equities and worries about the health of the global economy sparked selling in platinum to its lowest since July 22.

On Wednesday, December gold was the only key metal to rise in overnight trading, closing up $1.20 at $1,199.20 per fine ounce.

September silver closed down 25.6 cents at $17.902 per fine ounce, and September copper fell 5.85 cents to $3.2540 per pound.

October platinum fell $16.40 to $1,520.60, and September palladium also fell, by $5.90 to $464.70.

Gold