Futures for gold for February delivery GCG22, +0.44% GC00, +0.44% traded $9.50, or 0.5%, higher to settle at $1,811.70 an ounce, marking the highest settlement since Nov. 19.

Gold also eked out a positive finish for the week, up 0.4%, to log its third straight weekly advance, FactSet data show. For the year, gold is looking at a 4.4% decline thus far.

“Gold and silver have churned through a relatively difficult year. More than anything else, gold has been held back by taper/rising rate fears … and their positive knock-on effect on the U.S. dollar,” wrote Peter Grosskopf, CEO of metals-focused investment manager Sprott, in a research report published Wednesday.

Meanwhile, March silver SIH22, +0.44% picked up 12.1 cents, or 0.5%, to close at $22.94 an ounce, representing the highest finish since Nov. 26, following a Tuesday gain of 1.3%. Futures booked a weekly advance of 1.8%. For the year, however, the silver contract is down 13.2%.

Elsewhere on Comex, March copper HGH22, +0.11% added less than a penny to settle less than 0.1% higher at $4.3925 a pound, following a 1% gain on Thursday. For the week, copper was looking at a roughly 2.3% advance and was up 25% in the year to date.

January platinum PLF22, +0.78% added $6.70, or 0.7%, to settle at $975.10 an ounce, following a 4.4% rise in the previous session. Platinum marked a 4.3% weekly advance, which brought the year-to-date loss to 9.7%.

Palladium for March delivery PAH22, +3.29%, meanwhile, rose $67.60, or 3.6%, to close at $1956.90 an ounce, after a 5.4% gain on Wednesday, which helped futures to notch a weekly climb of almost 10%, bringing the 2021 decline to a loss of 20%.