US gold futures jumped more than 3 percent on Friday on a sharply lower dollar against the euro and lingering worries following a proposed $825 billion US economic stimulus package. Metals markets will shut Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and reopen for regular trade Tuesday.
GOLD: Gold for February delivery jumps $27.70, or 3.5 percent, to $835.00, an ounce at 10:31 am EST (1431 GMT) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The range spanned $815.70 to $839.00. Gold boosted after euro rebounded against the dollar as a rally in stocks in Europe and the United States revived investor optimism and some risk appetite.
The stimulus plan and news of Bank of America getting fresh capital from the US government confirmed investor's worries about longer-term inflation - Tom Pawlicki, precious metals and energy analyst at MF Global. Technical breakout cited as February futures retesting Wednesday's chart breakdown level - Pawlicki. Gold ignored short-term deflation concerns.
US inflation slowed to a half-century low last year, with the Consumer Price Index dropping a sharp 0.7 percent in December, a third straight decline. Gold futures outperformed crude oil contracts on Friday. Gold-oil ratio jumped to 23.7, compared with 22.80 in the previous session. COMEX estimated 9 am volume at 49,615 lots, options turnover at 167 lots. Spot gold was at $834.00 an ounce, up 2.0 percent from the last trade on Thursday.
SILVER: March rallied 67.0 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $11.110 an ounce on pent-up buying and gold's strength. Ranged $10.575 to $11.165.COMEX estimated 9 am. volume at 7,331 lots. Spot silver quoted at $11.08 an ounce, up 4.7 percent from its previous session close.
PLATINUM: NYMEX April platinum gained $25.20, or 2.7 percent, at $947.40 an ounce on optimism, after the proposed economic stimulus package. Spot platinum quoted at $940.50 an ounce, up 2.0 percent from its last finish. PALLADIUM: NYMEX March palladium rose $5.10, or 2.8 percent, to $185.00 an ounce, tracking platinum's gains on broad-based metals rally. Spot palladium quoted at $184.00 an ounce, 4 percent higher than its previous close on Thursday.
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