US gold futures ended more than 5 percent higher on Friday as heavy buying by funds triggered buy stops ahead of the Group of 20 summit, which could set a positive tone for the bullion market.
GOLD: December settled up $37.50, or 5.3 percent, at $742.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Range $724 to $752. December ended the week 1.1 percent higher despite a brief test below $700 on Thursday.
Gold's latest rise started after Thursday's settlement, when bullion jumped in sympathy with a Wall Street rally. Good fund buying seen in the gold pit, and buy-stop orders lifted futures higher - COMEX gold options floor trader Jonathan Jossen.
Safe-haven buying in gold on volatile stock markets. Dow Jones industrial average turns positive in late trade on Friday after initially dropping nearly 300 points, following the previous session's strength. Funds added long futures positions ahead of the G20 meeting for possible news that might weaken the dollar and bolster gold - dealers.
Traders focusing on December option expiration on November 20, which could increase volatility in underlying gold futures. COMEX estimated final volume at 159,613 lots, and options turnover at 25,054 contracts. Spot gold at $746.65 at 2:22 pm EST (1922 GMT), up 1.6 percent from Thursday's close.
SILVER: December finished up 69.00 cents, or 7.8 percent, at $9.490 an ounce on gold's sharp gains. COMEX estimated final volume at 21,947 lots. Spot silver at $9.51, up 1.4 percent from Thursday's close. London silver fixed at $9.33.
PLATINUM: NYMEX January platinum ended up $32.10, or 4.0 percent, at $845.10 an ounce. Platinum, mostly used as an industrial metal for catalytic converters in cars, followed a bounce of base metals such as copper. A possible rescue package to the automakers by the US government might trigger a knee-jerk rally in platinum group metals - analysts. Spot platinum fetched $838.00, up 2 percent from Thursday's finish.
PALLADIUM: December palladium closed higher by $2.70, or 1.3 percent, at $216.65 an ounce on broad-based commodity strength. Spot palladium fetched $212.50, up 1.2 percent from its previous close.
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