Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,816.55 an ounce by 1256 GMT, its highest since Nov. 22, while silver, platinum and palladium also gained. Oil prices extended gains, with Brent crude trading near $80 a barrel. [GOL/]
A weaker U.S. dollar added to the appeal of gold and other dollar-denominated commodities for holders of non-U.S. currencies.
"Gold could potentially move higher throughout this week, but I wouldn't put my house on it sustaining those gains," Jeffrey Halley, Senior Market Analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA said.
Strong commodity prices pushed petrochemical producer Sasol, Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, Sibanye Stillwater and Northam Platinum up 5.23%, 3.03%, 2.69%, 1.81% and 1.73% respectively.
Retail group Steinhoff International Holdings topped the Johannesburg All-Share index, jumping 25.36% after saying the threshold required to obtain the necessary financial creditor support for some lawsuit settlements has been obtained.
Steinhoff is finalising its proposed lawsuit settlement offer to those who lost money when it revealed holes in its accounts in December 2017.
Easing travel bans from developed countries such as the United States as worries about the Omicron coronavirus variant waned, also lifted sentiment in South African equity markets.
Overall the All-share index closed 1.22% firmer, while the Top-40 index rose 1.29%.
In the currency market, the rand traded at 15.7925 against the dollar at 1535 GMT, 1.56% weaker.
Trading was characterised by holiday-thinned volumes in the last week of 2021 ahead of the New Year.
"The holiday period generally exhibits low volatility across financial asset classes with this year being no exception (thus far)," said DailyFX analyst Warren Venketas.
"The South African rand has been able to claw back marginal losses against the greenback after reaching yearly highs in late November."
In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark 2030 government bond was up 11 basis points to 9.400%.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo;Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Barbara Lewis)
