Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures rallied more than 1% Friday, but stopped short of a record high, as disappointing jobs data and a weaker dollar pushed investors toward the perceived safety of the metal. Gold for February delivery rose $16.90 to $1,406.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver settled at a 30-year high, and palladium rallied to a nine-year high for the second session in a row. During the session, gold traded as high as $1,409.90, just pennies away from its early-November record of $1,410.10 an ounce.

Gold gained 3.2% this week, after a gain of less than 1% last week and two weeks of losses before that. On Friday, however, �the flight-to-safety is alive and well,� said Frank Lesh, a broker with Futures Path in Chicago. The jobs report and a weaker dollar were the day�s dominant influences, though gold could make more strides as concern about European sovereign debt hasn�t dissipated. �It�s just simmering for the moment,� Lesh said. See full story.