The precious metal provided additional profit taking opportunities as it reached a seven - week high.
A weakening dollar encouraged investors to renew their interest in the yellow metal, but lack of Chinese demand (due to the Lunar New Year holidays) kept the gains under a lid.
The decision by the Fed to push back the date for any increases in its benchmark interest rate only fuelled investor appetite, pushing the prices above $1700 for the first time in more than five weeks.
With prices continuing to beat various moving averages, a signal some analysts perceive as being bullish, the demand for the yellow metal lifted spot prices more than 4.5% for the week.
Investors who bought the metal to hedge against inflation also buoyed demand. The precious metal regained the lost safe haven appeal after prices soared higher following the weak U.S. GDP report.
Additional support was provided by the world’s biggest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, maintaining a bullish sentiment on the metal as a hedge against inflation.
The rally is on track to see prices rise more than 10.0% for the first month of 2012, it was also the biggest advance since August and the best start to a year since 1980.
Courtesy: CPM Group for DGCX
