Gold futures soared to a four-month peak early Friday as record high crude oil prices and inflation fears drew investors to the precious metal considered a safe-haven asset, dealers said.
Silver touched a four-month high in gold's wake before back-pedalling at the close, while platinum drifted lower.
December gold settled up $6.20 at $415.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, after trading from $407.50 to $416.80, its highest since April 13.
Gold extended gains from Thursday's rally and quickly topped $410 resistance amid growing concerns over recent sluggish US economic growth and the risk of inflation from record oil prices.
"Suddenly everyone is talking about a gold/oil correlation and saying gold has to rally because oil is up," Leonard Kaplan of Prospector Asset Management said, noting investors were shifting into the hard asset in a bid to minimise inflation risk. "But to see gold higher with the euro down sharply is most confusing," Kaplan said.
Gold has loosened its correlation to the euro in recent days as dealers increasingly focused more on oil and less on the dollar's fortunes.
Spot gold was quoted at $412.95/3.70, versus Thursday's close in New York at $406.65/7.40. Friday's afternoon fix in London was $410.55.
September silver futures rose 5.0 cents to $6.87 an ounce, in a range of $6.775 to $7.01, a peak since mid-April.
Spot silver fetched $6.86/89, up from the prior late quote at $6.79/82. Friday's fix was $6.805.
In platinum, a dip in Chinese jewellery demand and a lack of speculative buying weighed on the market.
October platinum slid $8.70 to end at $854.30 an ounce. Spot platinum changed hands at $850.50/855.50.
September palladium gained $2.20 to $225.50 an ounce. Spot palladium was priced at $220.00/225.00.