Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures closed higher Friday, rebounding after dropping nearly 5% over the past six sessions to end a tumultuous year with a gain of 10%. The February gold futures contract rose $25.90, or 1.7%, to settle at $1,566.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures prices had lost 4.7% in a six-session losing streak, but they gained $145.40, or 10%, for the year after closing out last year at $1,421.40. For the quarter, gold lost 3.4%. �Given the ongoing debt problems facing many economies and record low interest rates, we still expect the bull-run in gold to continue with the metal to rebound across 2012,� said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a note.

Analysts blamed the recent losses in gold on year-end book squaring but on Friday, the lower gold prices offered investors a chance to buy back into the market against a backdrop on continued uncertainty over global economic growth and the euro-zone debt crisis. �Gold investors in 2012 should watch two things above all others � zero rates and the risk of a China crash,� said Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault. �We know the first is nailed on, for bank deposits at least, if not for weaker euro-zone debt,� he said in emailed comments. �That�s slowly driving people to seek out a more reliable, tightly-supplied store of wealth.� See full story.