Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $8.60, or 0.9%, to $1,003 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex. The contract earlier hit an intraday high at $1,006.40. October gold, the front-month contract, was last up $7.70, or 0.8%, at $1,000.80 an ounce. "The softer dollar has supported gold overnight and will continue to provide direction in the coming sessions as risk appetite fluctuates," said James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. "However, the overall trend of improving economic indicators and inflation concerns look set to push gold higher again and ultimately challenge last year's all-time high," Moore wrote in a note to clients. The U.S. dollar pared some losses, but remained lower on Wednesday after the government said U.S. real gross domestic product for the second quarter was revised to a decline of 0.7% annualized from the earlier estimate of a 1% drop. The dollar index (DXY 76.83, -0.29, -0.38%) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.4% to 76.844 in recent trading. The U.S. currency and gold typically move in opposite directions. Weakness in the dollar boosts gold prices because it makes the metal cheaper for holders of other currencies. In other economic data, private-sector firms in the U.S. cut 254,000 jobs in September, according to the ADP employment report released Wednesday. Economists are expecting a decline of 167,000 in nonfarm payroll jobs when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports its September estimate on Friday. Other metals also posted gains, with December copper futures rising 7 cents, or 2.6%, to $2.80 a pound. Silver for December delivery gained 24 cents, or 1.5%, to $16.42 an ounce on Globex. October platinum gained 1.6% to $1,291.50 an ounce and December palladium futures gained 1.4% to $294 an ounce. Elsewhere in the commodity markets, crude-oil futures rose 1% to $67.38 a barrel. See Futures Movers. Polya Lesova is reporter for MarketWatch, based in Frankfurt.

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