Gold Futures Advance

Updated from 12:21 p.m. EDT

Gold prices rallied Friday after a mixed bag of economic data left the dollar down against other major world currencies.

April-dated bullion contracts added $6.80 to close at $653.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The bullion exchange-traded funds that hold the metal were up also, with streetTracks Gold Shares(GLD Quote) adding 1% and iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU Quote) ahead by 0.9%.

Industrial production jumped much more than the consensus forecast in February, according to new government statistics. Other fresh data showed core consumer prices growing as expected last month and consumer sentiment dipping in March. ...