LONDON: Gold eased on Friday after soaring 4 percent the previous day, but was still set for its best week in four years, lifted by stock market turmoil that has sent investors rushing for safe haven assets.

Spot gold was down 1 percent at $1,234.30 an ounce by 1423 GMT, but has still risen more than 5 percent this week, the biggest weekly gain since October 2011.

“Gold could test $1,260 or even $1,300 in the next few weeks, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we also see some profit-taking,” said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 1.99 percent to 716.01 tonnes on Thursday from 702.03 tonnes on Wednesday. That was the biggest daily inflow since Dec. 18.

Total holdings of the top eight gold ETFs have risen by 3.8 million ounces so far this year after three straight years of decline.

Silver was down 0.4pc at $15.68 an ounce, slipping from the $15.95 three-month high touched on Thursday. Platinum dipped by 0.2 pc at $958 an ounce and palladium was up 0.4pc at $523.50.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2016