GOLD PRICE UP

REUTERS - April 9  - Gold rose on Thursday as investors hedged risks ahead of a long weekend and a meeting of top oil producers later in the day aimed at stemming a market slump, amid improving risk sentiment on hopes that the coronavirus pandemic is nearing a peak.

Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,654.94 per ounce by 0719 GMT, having hit a four-week high of $1,671.40 on Tuesday. It has risen more than 2.3% this week.

U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,691.70.

Gold is "supported by risk hedging flows ahead of the long weekend break and event risk tonight," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will meet to decide on oil production cuts in a bid to support a market hammered by a coronavirus-led demand collapse.

"Higher oil (prices) could reduce deflation fears and drive the dollar lower as risk sentiment improves on stocks," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at financial services firm AxiCorp.

The dollar is down 0.5% this week.

Asian shares rose, tracking gains on Wall Street, and risk-sensitive currencies climbed on optimism that the coronavirus pandemic may be peaking. Most markets will be closed on Friday for the Easter holiday.

Market participants also awaited U.S. initial weekly jobless claims data due at 1230 GMT.

New York, the U.S. state hardest-hit by the coronavirus, reported its highest number of deaths in a single day on Thursday. Confirmed cases exceeded 1.41 million globally and the death toll crossed 83,400, according to a Reuters tally.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would like to reopen the economy with a "big bang" but that the death toll first needed to be heading down.

Meanwhile, the European Union's disease monitoring agency said there was no sign that the peak of the region's outbreak had been reached.

In a bid to support economies hammered by the outbreak, governments and central banks around the world have unleashed unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus.

"Given the unprecedented global fiscal and monetary stimulus, we maintain a positive view on gold," Standard Chartered Bank analyst Suki Cooper said in a note, forecasting prices to average $1,725 an ounce in the second quarter.

Reflecting appetite for bullion, holdings in SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, continued to rise.

Palladium rose 0.3% to $2,181.46 per ounce, while platinum gained 0.9% to $735.78 an ounce, having risen to a three-week peak on Wednesday.

Silver climbed 0.3% to $15.10 per ounce.

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