LONDON, May 5: Gold glittered on Friday as investor interest buoyed by firm oil and geopolitical worries pushed the metal to a new 25-year high, just $15 away from the next big target of $700 an ounce.

Gold was becoming increasingly vulnerable to a sharp correction, but upbeat market sentiment prompted market players to buy more, dealers said.

The speculators and long-term players are adding to their positions. The overall situation hasn’t changed. It’s Iran, it’s the dollar, it’s inflation, said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of precious metals at Heraeus.

He saw gold trading in a range of $675 to $690.

Spot gold rose as high as $684.10 an ounce before easing to $681.50/682.50 by 0955 GMT, against $676.90/677.90 in New York late on Thursday. Gold, which jumped to a record high of $850 in early 1980, has gained 32 per cent this year.

Dealers said gold was seen as technically overbought but tension in the Middle East, high oil prices and a volatile dollar would underpin the metal.

Oil rebounded above $70 a barrel as bargain-hunting traders and persistent geopolitical risks stemmed a two-day rout.

The market remains anxious over the risk of disruption from fourth-largest oil exporter Iran, locked in an intensifying row with the West over its nuclear ambitions.

Volatility will continue to dominate today as the weekend approaches and with technical support and resistance levels providing no real assistance, dealers will continue to go with the flow, Standard Bank said in a note.

Market players would be watching the currency market for direction ahead of the release of US April payrolls data amid a lack of activity in the physical market, dealers said.

Gold mining companies cheered after recording strong financial results on the back of high prices.

South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, the world’s third biggest producer, posted a more than doubling of adjusted first quarter earnings per share on Friday.

In other precious metals, platinum was unchanged at $1,173/1,178 an ounce, while palladium fell $0.50 to $377.00/382.00 an ounce.

Silver rose as high as $14.09 an ounce before settling at $13.97/14.07, versus $13.94/14.04 in New York.—Reuters