Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures pulled back from seven-week highs Friday as investors took a breather from buying the precious metal as a safe-haven hedge against unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. Gold for April delivery, the most active contract, fell $6.50, or 0.5%, to $1,409.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, ending lower for the first time in eight sessions. Gold rose 1.5% on the week. March silver shed 27 cents, or 0.8%, to $32.90 an ounce, putting the metal�s weekly gains at 1.9%.

�The market overshot on the upside,� said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Lind Waldock in Chicago. �Some of the traders who bought into this market are booking profits.� Both metals had came off earlier lows in midsession as oil prices headed lower. Gold is likely to trade lower in coming days, especially if more oil from Saudi Arabia comes to quell the immediate fears of a shortage due to unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, said Jim Steel, a precious metals analysts with HSBC in New York. The market is going to remain �extremely sensitive� to developments in the region, Steel said. See full story.