US gold rises on bargain hunting

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on bargain hunting Friday, but still ended November with a loss of nearly 6.5 percent, the largest drop since a 12.2-percent decline in June. Gold has so far dropped more than 25 percent this year. The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 12.5 dollars, or 1.01 percent, to settle at 1,250.4 dollars per ounce. Opportunistic buying on the physical market and a weaker dollar also offered some support to gold market. But, market analysts held that the overall trend for gold is to go down further. Silver for March delivery gained 35.1 cents, or 1.78 percent, to close at 20.033 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery climbed 16.1 dollars, or 1.19 percent, to close at 1,368. 8 dollars per ounce.