NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures surged Friday, briefly topping $800 an ounce for the first time in more than a month, as wary investors returned to the safety of the precious metal.
Gold for December delivery rallied $43.10, or 5.8%, to end at $791.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It jumped 7.1% to $801.90 earlier, rising to above $800 for the first time since Oct. 16.
The benchmark contract ended the week up 6.6%, the biggest percentage gain since the week ended Sept. 19.
The metal topped $900 an ounce in September after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and then fell into roller-coaster dives that sent it below the $700 mark in October, as banks and funds liquidated their precious-metal assets for much-needed cash in the face of the credit crunch.
Recent gains in gold indicate that investment interests may have returned, analysts said.
"The metal benefited from the return of safe-haven investment demand," said James Moore, a precious metal's analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.
Gold is now more than 13% higher than its October low. But comparing with its record high above $1,000 hit in March, the metal is still down more than 20%.
Friday's gains came on the heels of more gloomy economic forecasts. U.S. unemployment rate will reach 9%, from 6.5% currently, by the end of 2009 and the economy will shrink in each quarter until mid-2009, said economists at Goldman Sachs on Friday.
If unemployment reaches that level, it would be "unequivocally the worst single downturn on record since World War II," analysts at the investment bank said in a note.