US gold finished the week strongly on flight-to-safety buying due to oil's surge to record levels, falling US equity markets and declines in the US dollar as worries mounted about US mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, traders said.
GOLD: August futures jumped $18.60, or 1.97 percent, to finish at $960.60 an ounce on the COMEX division of New York Mercantile Exchange. August gold's range spanned $942.60 to $969.10 an ounce, a level last seen on March 19.
Gold rallied with crude oil, which jumped to a record above $147 a barrel on fear of supply disruptions. The European Union raised concerns over Iran's announcement this week that it had conducted missile tests. Iraq's Defence Ministry said on Friday it had no knowledge of any Israeli air force drills in its airspace, despite media report's to the contrary.
The dollar was pressured by financial sector worries after a report said the US government is considering taking over mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if their situation worsens. Gold receives a boost from dollar declines against the euro, when overseas investors seek value from dollar-denominated assets.
The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac news hit US equity markets, which drove investors seeking a safe haven as well as greater yield back into gold. A technical break to the upside this week also renewed stop-loss, short-cover and new buying of gold. COMEX estimated final gold volume at a healthy 176,179 lots.
Thursday's final count came to 166,056 lots, with open interest up 7,561 at 453,181 lots. Spot gold pushed up to $963.0/965.0 an ounce by 3:05 am EDT (1905 GMT) from $944.10/445.30 an ounce in late Thursday trade. London's afternoon gold fix was up at $962.75 an ounce.
SILVER: September silver surged 50.0 cents to close at $18.82 an ounce, a 2.73 percent rise. COMEX silver hit a March 19 high at $18.98 an ounce, up from the low at $18.3250. COMEX estimated final volume at 27,861 lots, compared with a total 29,894 lots on Thursday. Spot silver advanced to $18.76/18.84 an ounce by 3:16 pm EDT (1916 GMT) from $18.28/18.33 an ounce late on Thursday. The London silver fix jumped to $18.38 per ounce.
PLATINUM: October added $48.80, or 2.44 percent, to end at $2,047.20 an ounce. It extended gains to $2.058.0 per tonne, an 8-day high. Spot platinum firmed to $2,023.0/2,043.0 an ounce by late in the New York session.
PALLADIUM: September palladium rose $5.80 to a close 1.28 percent higher at $457.80 an ounce. Spot palladium increased late in the session to $448.50/456.50 per ounce.