At 9:52 a.m., spot gold was trading at $931.58 per ounce against $932.50 per ounce in late New York trade on Thursday.

Record oil prices above $145 a barrel have stoked inflation fears, supporting the precious metal, which often trades in line with crude prices due to its role as a hedge against fuel-fed inflation.

"This should further anchor global inflation expectations and with equity markets remaining under pressure, precious metals should remain an attractive haven for investment funds today," Standard Bank metals analyst Manqoba Madinane said.

Gold has been pushed higher by rising oil prices, heightened risk aversion and dollar weakness recently as investors have looked for a safe store of wealth during the current economic turmoil.

However, profit-taking ahead of the Independence Day long weekend in the U.S. was encouraged by a stronger tone in the dollar on Thursday. Should the greenback hold onto gains going into the weekend, precious metals may struggle to move higher in the short-term, analysts said.

Gold generally trades counter to the dollar, as it is seen as an alternative asset to the world's most common form of currency reserves.

The near 30 cent decline in the dollar's value against the euro since the start of 2007 has been one of the major drivers of gold's near $300 gain during the same time period.

Among other precious metals, platinum was down at $2,022 per ounce from $2,028 per ounce, while sister metal palladium slipped to $452 per ounce from $463.75 per ounce. Silver dipped to $18.00 per ounce from $18.27 per ounce.