Gold News & Info

Source: MarketWatch

New York— Gold futures reversed and moved higher Friday, helped by technical factors, though gains were limited as the dollar advanced on news of a simmering oil conflict between Iraq and Iran. Gold for February delivery recently traded $6.7, or 0.6%, higher at $1,114.1 an ounce. Gold had faltered in earlier trading as the U.S. dollar again rose to three-month highs, in part fueled by a conflict over an oil well along the Iran-Iraq border, as investors sought safe assets to protect their investments.

The dollar and gold have a strong inverse relationship in recent months, with gold rising as the dollar falls. Geopolitical tensions also typically support higher gold prices, however. Options expiration and a move in the SPDR Gold Trust contributed to the turnaround, said Doug Keller, managing director at Binary Research, a commodities research firm. On Friday, the dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, rose to 77.97, up 0.3%. See full story.