The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down 0.7 percent at 102.030. "It's more of a dollar sell-off than a gold move," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA in Singapore. "The dollar is weak across the board and gold itself has technically broken out of its down channel in December." Spot gold has risen 5 percent from the more-than 10-month lows touched in December. Spot gold is expected to rise to $1,182 per ounce, according to Reuters' market analyst for commodities and energy technicals, Wang Tao.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down 0.7 percent at 102.030. "It's more of a dollar sell-off than a gold move," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA in Singapore. "The dollar is weak across the board and gold itself has technically broken out of its down channel in December." Spot gold has risen 5 percent from the more-than 10-month lows touched in December. Spot gold is expected to rise to $1,182 per ounce, according to Reuters' market analyst for commodities and energy technicals, Wang Tao.