The price of gold increased for a third straight week, as a weak dollar and concerns about global debt levels induced investors to trade in the precious metal in order to hedge their investments against possible losses. The market closed for the Easter holidays on Thursday with gold future for June delivery priced at USD $ 1503.80 an ounce, increasing by 0.33 percent. Silver touched its highest price level in 31 years at USD $ 46.07 an ounce.
The depreciation of the dollar, coupled with rising concerns about sovereign-debt of the USA, were the major reasons which led to the price hike. The dollar depreciated against a basket of six other currencies to its lowest level since August 2008, due to fears that the Fed would not increase interest rates. Also, this week, Standard & Poor revised its debt outlook for the USA from “stable” to “negative”. Although trading in gold remained thin throughout the week due to the Easter holidays in Europe and the US, gold prices still remained high and are expected to remain so in the upcoming weeks as well.