Gold Extends Surge Amid U.S. Dollar Weakness

(RTTNews) - Gold prices moved sharply higher during trading on Monday, extending the strong upward move seen during last Friday's session.

After jumping $89.80 or 1.9 percent to $4,951.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold for February delivery surged $99.70 or 2 percent to $5,050.90 an ounce.

The continued advance by the price of gold came amid weakness in the value of the U.S. dollar, with the U.S. dollar index sliding 0.7 percent.

The U.S. dollar moved to the downside ahead of the release of several key U.S. economic reports on the coming days.

The Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report, which was delayed due to the brief government shutdown last week, is likely to be in the spotlight.

The report is expected to show employment climbed by 70,000 jobs in January after rising by 50,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.4 percent.

Reports on retail sales and consumer price inflation are also likely to attract attention, as the data could impact the outlook for interest rates.