NEW YORK (Commodity Online) : Gold and oil prices ended the week on record gains in New York mainly on weak dollar and disappointed US employment data. Light sweet crude for January delivery was seen trading at $89.19 a barrel at close Friday on Nymex while Brent crude ended at $91.42 a dollar in London. Spot gold rose to a high of $1 407,35 an ounce and was bid at $1 402,60 an ounce at 1510 GMT, against $1 384,75 late in New York on Thursday. The December gold futures contract jumped $16.90 to $1,405.40 an ounce, just shy of the record closing price of $1,409.80 reached Nov. 9. Silver prices also rocketed, rising 70 cents to $29.24 an ounce, a new 30-year high before adjusting for inflation. Silver futures for March delivery climbed 69.9 cents, or 2.4 per cent, to $29.271 an ounce. Earlier, the metal reached $29.37, the highest since March 1980. This week, the price jumped 9.3 per cent, the most since January. Analysts also attributed China’s gold imports, which surged in the first ten months of this year, to gold’s near three week finish while oil’s climb was mainly due to weak trends in US employment data. US employment increased by far less than expected in November and the jobless rate jumped to a seven-month high of 9,8%, the data showed. The jobs data came as a grim surprise to many analysts after a slew of positive data in recent days pointed to a pickup in manufacturing and consumer confidence. The greenback continued its decline against key currencies on Friday after data showing a jump in US unemployment dampened hopes that the recovery in the world's largest economy and oil consumer is turning a corner. A weak greenback makes dollar-traded commodities more attractive for investors. Anticipation for higher demand for oil in Europe as it struggles with an unseasonably cold spell further boosted oil prices.

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