Gold steadied around $US818 an ounce on Friday, heading for its biggest weekly percentage gain in almost three months on recent US dollar weakness and a surge in oil prices.
Gold has gained over 20% from a 13-month low around $US680 an ounce in October, shrugging off weakness in other commodities as it is seen as a safe-haven in times of turmoil.
It has also benefited from technical buying after the precious metal regained $US800 for the first time since early December.
"I think people are still happy to buy gold as safe-haven. We also heard the funds are short side,'' said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings rose 4.28 tonnes to 762.17 tonnes of gold as of December 11.
"I think people are watching movements in the dollar. That's all,'' Leung, referring to a relatively quiet trade in Asia ahead of next week's US Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates.
Gold was at $US818.15 an ounce, down $US0.20 from New York's notional close on Thursday, when it hit its highest since mid-October of $US833.80 an ounce on a weaker dollar.
