Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose about 1 percent on Thursday after the heavy selloff in the previous session, thanks in part to bargain hunters and a weaker dollar.

The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 16.6 dollars, or 1.01 percent, to settle at 1,659.5 dollars per ounce.

Trading on Thursday was a big improvement from Wednesday's sharp 3-percent drop, but still failed to recover the loss in the gold price completely. While bargain hunters see the precious metal as a possible future advantage, gold was also helped by a weaker dollar in the day.

The Dollar Index, which measures the value of the greenback against six other currencies, lost 0.52 percent to trade around 80. 149.

Thursday morning's unemployment claims release from the U.S. Department of Labor held somewhat mixed results for gold: the decrease of 14,000 people indicated further improvement in the U.S. economy, but also fell short of traders' expectations.

Silver for May delivery hiked 54.5 cents, or 1.7 percent, to settle at 32.726 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery climbed 8.6 dollars, or 0.5 percent, to close at 1,683.9 dollars per ounce.