Friday, February 08, 2008 2:46:40 PM – Gold closed higher on Friday in U.S. trading, adding to the gains from the two previous sessions. April gold finished at $922.30 an ounce, up $12.30 on the day. The precious metal reached as high as $924.50, as the U.S. dollar saw weakness against most of its major counterparts. 
Bullion added $9 an ounce on Thursday amid some choppy trading. The metal snapped a six-session losing streak on Wednesday, rising by $14.70 and moving back above the $900 mark. The metal plunged on Tuesday in U.S. trading and closed below $900 an ounce for the first time in more than two weeks. April-dated gold finished at $890.30, down $19.10 on the session. Prices slipped as low as $888.40 in the early going, gold’s lowest level since Jan. 23. Gold dropped on Monday in U.S. trading amid some profit-taking after last week’s recent rate cut-led rally.
Gold’s hedge value received a boost from a sharp rise in oil prices. Prices have been pushed higher after Royal Dutch Shell’s announcement that it is halting output by 130,000 barrels a day because of a pipeline leak.
