LONDON, March 8: Gold extended gains on Thursday to move further away from a six-week low on renewed interest from investors and firmer oil prices, dealers said.

A rise in base metals prices and improving stock markets helped gold, but investors continued to watch the equities and currency markets for short-term price direction.

We are now a few days behind the sell-off. We still believe that fundamentals for the gold market are as strong now as they were three or four weeks ago, said Michael Widmer, director of metals research at Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank.

It was perception of risk that had changed. People were moving out of various markets, wanting to reduce the volatility.

Part of the rebound that is coming through at the moment is because people are getting back into the market. They are still bullish, he added.

Spot gold hit a session high of $654.00 an ounce and was at $653.40/654.40 an ounce by 1103 GMT, higher than $650.25/650.75 late in New York on Wednesday, when it had gained more than $4 on the back of rising crude oil.

Gold hit a nine-month high of $689 last Monday before a surging yen and tumbling global stocks forced risk-averse investors to sell gold to cover their losses, sending the price to $632.30 on March 6, the lowest since late January.

Britain's top share index opened higher on Thursday, tracking a rise in Asian shares and buoyed by commodity shares, amid signs the risk aversion that seized global markets over the past week may be starting to subside.

On the London Metals Exchange, base metals traded higher, with copper gaining about 2.4 per cent. People are probably still a little cautious about what the future might hold given how volatile every market has been over the past couple of weeks, said David Moore, commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

In other metals, silver rose to $13.09/13.14 an ounce from $12.98/13.03, while platinum was up at $1,194/1,199 an ounce, versus $1,182/1,186 in New York. Palladium was flat at $345/348.—Reuters