MW: Gold rises above $1,060, heading for fourth weekly gain
By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose Friday to trade above $1,060 an ounce, heading for their fourth weekly gain as a weaker dollar helped boost gold's investment appeal.
December gold futures rose $8.50, or 0.8%, to $1,067.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The thinly traded October contract gained $7.40, or 0.7%, to $1,065.20. The contract is poised to rise more than 1% this week.
The U.S. dollar has weakened against its major rivals this week, with the dollar index (DXY 75.26, +0.17, +0.22%) down 0.5%. The euro rose to a new 14-month high against the dollar earlier Friday.
Gold was "pushed to higher prices by funds as inflationary concerns remain paramount," said George Gero, a precious-metals trader for RBC Capital Markets.
The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 104.55, +0.63, +0.61%) , the biggest gold exchange-traded fund, has seen a slight withdrawal in recent sessions. Its holding fell 1.22 metric tonnes Wednesday to 1,108.09 metric tonnes. Holdings remained at the same level Thursday.
In other news, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the biggest banks will be subject to more rules and regulations in coming months in order to protect the financial system. Read more.
In other metals trading, January platinum, the most active contract of the metal, gained $9.10, or 0.7%, to $1,379 an ounce. December palladium added 20 cents, or 0.1%, to $339.95.
December silver rose 40 cents, or 2.3%, to $17.945 an ounce. December copper gained 5.55 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.053 a pound.