Dollar's Dive Drives Gold

A slumping dollar helped propel gold higher Friday, and observers say there could be more to come.

Prices for February delivery of gold were recently surging $9.50 at $644.90 an ounce on the Chicago Board of Trade, and the exchange-traded funds, which hold the metal, followed suit. Shares of streetTracks Gold Shares and iShares Comex Gold Trust(IAU Quote), were up 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.

The dollar, which tends to move inversely with changes in the value of bullion, crossed the psychologically important $1.30 level vs. the euro. Recently the euro was buying $1.3088, up from $1.2942 late Thursday and its highest level since April 2005. The greenback was also losing against the yen, hitting a 3-month low of 115.73 yen vs. 116.27 yen previously. (Click here for more on the dollar's decline.) ...