Gold futures advanced on Thursday, September 6, topping the key $1, 700 level for the first time since March, as investors looked ahead to the highly anticipated European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the day. Gold futures with December contract jumped 1.02 per cent to $1,711.10. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December settlement rose 1.65 per cent, while copper for the same month shed 0.3 per cent.