Gold hits record above $1,167

Gold hit a record high at $1,167.45 an ounce on Monday as dollar weakness pushed the metal through key technical resistance levels, fuelling momentum buying after the metal’s sharp run higher earlier this month, Reuters reported.

Spot gold was bid at $1,165.45 an ounce at 1002 GMT (5:02 a.m. EST), against $1,148.20 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $19.10 to $1,165.90 an ounce.

Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS Finance in Geneva, said the metal’s rise through technical stops had triggered fresh buying.
"The way the market held the $1,130 support on Thursday and Friday was very impressive," he said. "It looks like $1,200 will be seen much sooner than expected."

The dollar extended broad losses on Monday, hitting a six-week low versus the yen after comments from a Federal Reserve official bolstered the view that U.S. interest rates will stay low.

Weakness in the U.S. unit boosts gold’s appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Oil prices rose more than 1 percent to top $78 a barrel, after the U.S. dollar lost its footing and heightened tensions between key oil exporter Iran and Western nations raised speculation of a potential supply threat.