Gold Finishes Holiday Week with a Small Loss

Gold prices finished a holiday-shortened week down three-hundreths of a percentage point as gains Friday failed to outweigh heavy losses earlier in the week.

Gold for February delivery GCG5, +1.93% surged $22.10, or 1.88%, to $1,196.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, but remained down 0.04% for the week after a big selloff on Monday. Silver for March delivery SIH5, +2.39% gained 43 cents, or 2.7%, to $16.14 an ounce.

Analysts said investors who were buying saw gold as a bargain and were taking advantage of thin volumes.

“The weaker dollar probably attracted some bids, but volumes are really low and this rally might not last once everyone is back from the holidays,” a precious metals trader in Singapore told Yahoo News.

Platinum for January delivery PLF5, +2.16% jumped $27.30, or 2.29%, to $1,218.40 an ounce. Palladium for March delivery PAH5, +1.18% rose $10.15, or 1.26%, at $817.95 an ounce.

High-grade copper for March delivery HGH5, -1.38% was off 4 cents at $2.81 a pound.

Source: MarketWatch