By Polya Lesova & Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose Monday to their strongest intraday level in more than a month, as a decline in the U.S. dollar and strong Chinese trade data boosted the appeal of the precious metal.
Gold for February delivery rose as high as $1,163 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex.
In recent trading, the contract gained $19.90, or 1.7%, to $1,158.80 an ounce.
"We've seen carry-over selling in the U.S. dollar, which is helping to boost U.S.-dollar denominated commodity prices," said Ben Potter, a research analyst at IG Markets in Melbourne. "Gold is flying."
Gold futures posted modest gains Friday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, finishing the week 3.9% higher.
Gold prices have found support as the U.S. dollar fell against most of its major rivals. Largely disappointing U.S. jobs data Friday weighed on the dollar and boosted gold's investment appeal.
The dollar index (DXY 76.96, -0.21, -0.28%) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, fell 0.7% to 76.939 in recent trading.
Gold and the dollar have had a very strong inverse correlation. When the dollar declines in the value, gold prices tend to rise.
Commodities are also getting a big boost from Chinese trade data, Potter said. Crude futures climbed to a 15-month high above $83 a barrel. See Futures Movers.
"China's import and export numbers smashed expectations," Potter said.
In particular, "China's iron-ore imports for December were the second highest on record," he said, adding that "these numbers could really help boost the big miners" and that the data are "further evidence the global economic recovery is gaining momentum." See full story on Chinese trade data.
Also on Globex, March copper futures gained 9 cents, or 3%, to $3.49 a pound and March silver futures rose 38 cents, or 2%, to $18.85 an ounce.
