Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures left behind a ho-hum start of trading to rally more than 1% Thursday and to end a five-week high, rising alongside other assets as investors cheered the latest euro-zone plan to contain the region�s sovereign-debt crisis and the dollar was weaker. Gold for December delivery advanced $24.20, or 1.4%, to $1,747.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was gold�s best settlement in five weeks, and one that extended the metal�s winning streak to five sessions. The contract spent most of the Asian and European trading hours in the red, recovering a bit as New York floor trading approached. Once equities skyrocketed and the dollar took a beating, though, the yellow metal traded on firmer footing.

�You�ve got the return of risk appetite in full force today and you�ve got a U.S. dollar that really is getting beaten up badly,� said Matt Zeman, a trader with Kingsview Financial in Chicago. European leaders meeting in Brussels late Wednesday agreed to a plan that included a voluntary 50% write-down on Greek government debt, more firepower for the region�s bailout fund and nearly $150 billion to recapitalize European banks. The plan, and the optimism it elicited, also drove gains in other metals more closely linked to industrial uses. Other commodities such as oil also rose, and U.S. stocks surged on the heels of sharp gains for equities in Europe and Asia. See full story.