US gold futures briefly rose above $750 an ounce on Friday as heavy buying by funds triggered buy stops ahead of the Group of 20 summit meeting, which aims at shoring up the economy and could set the tone for the bullion market. December gold rallies $33.40, or 4.8 percent, to $738.40 an ounce at 10:40 am EST (1540 GMT) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Range $724 to $752. 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, said COMEX gold options floor trader Jonathan Jossen.
Safe-haven buying in gold on volatile stock markets. Dow Jones industrial average drops nearly 300 points on Friday, following the previous session's strength. COMEX estimated 10 am EST volume at 98,453 lots, and options turnover at 9,700 contracts. Spot gold at $740.70, up 0.8 percent from Thursday's close. December silver rises 69.00 cents, or 7.8 percent, to $9.490 an ounce on gold's sharp gains.
COMEX estimated 10 am volume at 14,757 lots. Spot silver at $9.47, up 1 percent from Thursday's close. NYMEX January platinum gains $31, or 3.8 percent, to $844 an ounce. Platinum, mostly used as an industrial metal for catalytic converters in cars, followed a bounce of base metals such as copper. Traders focusing on December option expiration on November 20, which could increase volatility in underlying gold futures.