Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Thursday after Wednesday's heavy losses, as buying from bargain hunters helped buoy up the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for June delivery gained 16 dollars, or 0.99 percent, to settle at 1,630.1 U.S. dollars per ounce.

Analysts said that bargain hunters rushed to gold following Wednesday's heavy losses that pushed gold prices to a 12-week low.

Gold was hit heavily after Tuesday's release of the U.S. Federal Reserve March meeting minutes which dissolved traders' hopes for future quantitative easing policies, as gold has traditionally posted gains with rounds of large-scale bond buying.

Meanwhile, the morning news that initial U.S. unemployment claims were at a new four-year low helped bring a somewhat positive tilt to the gold market. Traders Thursday seemed to weigh U.S. data more heavily than that from Europe, a region which continues to be regarded with some uncertainty.

As for outside market conditions, crude oil rose about 1.5 percent after Wednesday's loss, while the Dow Jones Industrial average was down.

Silver futures also regained some momentum Thursday. Silver for May delivery rose 68.6 cents, or 2.11 percent, to settle at 31.73 dollars per ounce. July Platinum rose nine dollars, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 1,607.6 dollars per ounce.