by Rachel Koning Beals
Market Watch
Gold futures ticked higher Thursday, on track to mark their best quarterly performance in some three decades. Bullion has benefited as a dovish Federal Reserve policy stance has softened the high-flying U.S. dollar’s run seen early this year.
June gold gained $9.70, or 0.8%, to $1,238.40, after a 0.7% drop on Wednesday.
Some mild back-and-forth swings in late March have barely dented gold’s three-month performance. After a nearly 11% rise in February, spot gold prices lost about 1% in March. But gold is up more than 15% in the first three months of the year, its strongest quarterly showing since the third quarter of 1986.