Gold ends slightly higher as oil slides

Gold for August delivery closed at 970.70 U.S. dollars per ounce Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a 0.8 percent rise from the previous trading day.

The contracts settled well below the day's strongest level of 980 dollars due to a sell-off in crude oil.

Oil prices continued to slide and closed below 130 U.S. dollars a barrel due to ongoing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.

Silver futures in September settled 7 cents lower at 18.735 dollars per ounce while October platinum fell by 38 dollars to 1900.40 dollars per ounce.