Gold rose on Friday from the previous day's six-month lows as the dollar weakened, but the eurozone crisis that has kept investors out of the market toward the end of a volatile 2011 will stay in sharp focus heading into the new year. The precious metal was on course for a rise of about 10 percent for 2011 - its tenth straight annual gain. But it is down around 19 percent from a record $1,920.30 per ounce in September and is on track for its first quarterly loss in more than three years.
Gold in recent months has often abandoned its traditional status of a shelter from turmoil as investors have liquidated positions to free up dollars as the eurozone debt crisis caused money markets to seize up. Gold still gave investors a return of 9.3 percent in 2011, but it underformed US 10-year Treasuries, which returned about 17 percent, Brent crude oil with 13.5 percent and German 10-year Bunds 31.1 percent.
Spot gold was up 1.1 percent at $1,563.03 at 1434 GMT but is still down more than 10 percent for the month. "We need to see the hot money from speculators. We need to see real money from the money managers coming back to this market. They have been absent throughout December," Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said.
The most-active US gold futures contract gained 1.5 percent to $1,564, snapping six straight sessions of losses. Technical analysis suggested that spot gold could rebound to $1,588 during the day, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. The 20-day moving average crossed below the 200-day moving average for the first time since 2009, forming what some analysts call a "death cross", but others said gold is facing a lengthy consolidation phase rather than a bear market.
"A negative crossover in moving averages can be seen as a selling signal," said Tim Riddell, head of ANZ Global Markets Research, Asia. "But in gold's profile, it is probably a confirmation signal that gold has made a cyclical high in the third quarter, and will likely see a more protracted consolidation phase than the market would initially wish to see."
Industrial metals and equities also rose in the last trading day of the year, but concerns about the eurozone debt crisis and global growth remained. Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, remains at the centre of the debt crisis that began in Greece two years ago, and its borrowing needs could overwhelm the bloc's financial defences if it were forced to seek an international bailout.
But in the United States, employment, housing market and manufacturing data pointed to growing momentum in the world's largest economy. Physical buying of gold was also up, with falling gold price pushing up demand in India, luring jewellers who began restocking and preparing for the wedding season beginning in mid-January. The Lunar New Year in about three weeks will also help support gold consumption in China, traders said. Silver rose 0.8 percent to $27.96, platinum was up 0.8 percent at $1,380.50 and palladium was up 1.1 percent at $636.97.