Gold Rose Ahead Of Holidays

U.S. gold futures climbed in light trade Thursday morning before an early close due to the Christmas Eve on Friday, as the euro reached a record high against the US dollar amid split results in several U.S. economic reports.

By 9:59 a.m., February delivery gold at the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division rose $1.10 to $442.50 an ounce, moving from $440.80 to $444.

The euro shot to an all-time high around $1.3483 in light trading conditions, from $1.3460 earlier.

A trader said a dose of dealer selling seemed to spook the market and prevented the yellow metal from capitalizing further on the euro's breakout higher.

Gold tends to rise on a weaker dollar as the dollar-denominated metal gets cheaper for holders of other currencies.