Gold News & Info

Source: MarketWatch

New York— Gold futures rallied Friday, gaining for the first session in five as a weaker U.S. dollar enhanced the metal's appeal as an investment alternative. The metals complex traded broadly higher. Gold for February delivery was last up $28, or 3.5%, at $835.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Benchmark gold had lost nearly $50, or 5.6%, over the four previous sessions, closing Thursday at its lowest since Dec. 9. Despite Friday's gain, gold is set to end the week down more than 2%.

In currencies trading, the dollar fell against most major currencies after the Labor Department reported that U.S. consumer prices increased just 0.1% in 2008, the smallest increase in 54 years. The consumer price index fell 0.7% in December, the third decline in a row, led by an 8.3% drop in energy prices. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been looking for a 0.8% decline. A weaker greenback tends to push up dollar-denominated gold prices. See full story.