Gold price on a Black Friday tear

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.