El Salvador president proposes bill to overturn metals mining ban
In 2017, El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban forms of metals mining.
Gold climbed by as much as $20 an ounce on Friday as the metal made the most of a weakening dollar.
Comex gold for delivery in December settled $23.20 or 1.3% higher at $1,751.40 an ounce in New York, the best level in more than a month, after earlier in the day touching a high of $1,755.
Floor trading was closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and gold and other markets had a shortened trading session on Friday.
Gold as a safe haven investment received a boost from news that the European Union summit ended unexpectedly early on Friday sans agreement on the 27-nation’s €1 trillion budget plans.
Gold was also pushed higher by news from South Africa – at 221 tonnes a year the world’s number four producer of the yellow metal – of renewed labour unrest in its mining sector including two dead in clashes at a Harmony Gold (NYSE:HMY) mine in the country.
A wave of illegal strikes and violence have swept the African nation’s gold and platinum mines since August when police shot and killed 34 protesters outside Lonmin’s (LON:JSE) Marikana platinum mine, northwest of Johannesburg.
The last strike only ended a week ago after workers accepted an offer from Anglo American Platinum, the world’s top producer of the precious metal.
January platinum also gained on Friday at $1,593 an ounce.
