Gold climbs, settles back above $1,700
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures climbed back above $1,700 an ounce Thursday to score the first gain in three sessions, finding support after the European Central Bank cut its forecasts for economic growth in the euro zone. February gold (CNS:GCG3) added $8, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,701.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The ECB’s downward revision to euro-zone growth has “boosted the dollar vs. the euro, which is usually bearish for gold,” said Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter. But “the feeling is that slowing growth will prompt additional quantitative easing (money printing) by Europe, which is the fundamental driver of higher gold prices.”