Gold hit a seven-week peak on Friday and silver its highest since January last year as the Bank of Japan’s decision the previous day to hold off expanding monetary stimulus weighed on stock markets and the dollar, Reuters reported. The US unit posted its biggest daily loss against the yen in more than five years on Thursday after the BOJ decision, and fell another 0.3% against a currency basket on Friday. That lifted precious metals, which are priced in dollars. Spot gold was up 0.7% at $1,274.52 an ounce, having earlier peaked at $1,280.60 an ounce. US gold futures for June delivery were up $10.70 an ounce at $1,277.10. For the week, the metal is up 3.5% in what would be its biggest weekly jump since the week ended February 12. Silver was up 1.4% at $17.77 an ounce. The metal has risen 15% this month and is on track for its biggest monthly rise since August 2013.
