old futures closed at their highest level since June 7, in a broad metals rally triggered by the tumbling dollar. The metal gained 4% in the second quarter.

Gold for August delivery ended the session up $27.10 at $616 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, an increase of 4.8% for the week. Gold hasn't closed above $600 since June 12.

Other metals prices also posted gains. Silver added 50 cents to $10.833 an ounce, platinum rose $41 to $1,246.70 an ounce and palladium was up $10.10 at $323.50 an ounce. Copper rose 3.9 cents to $3.4625 a pound.

"We're at a peak of interest rates," said John Clemmow of Investec Securities. "Gold is extremely interest rate-sensitive and dollar-sensitive. The real level of interest rates is set to go softer and gold has more upside than downside in this case."

he move through $600 in Comex Aug gold, after an FOMC statement Thursday that was less hawkish than some feared, has propelled further buying, says Mike Zarembski, futures analyst with XPRESSTRADE.

"Once we got above $600 in after-hours trading, it was off to the races," he says. "With the dollar taking it on the chin since the announcement, it's bullish for the metals." Buy stops have been hit in gold and short covering has occurred, he adds.

comments by the Fed are "very friendly to the gold market,'' said Michael Guido, director of hedge fund marketing and commodity strategy at Societe Generale in New York. "All the sideline buyers are thinking this could be the bottom of the gold market for the year. There's a lot more confidence to adding to positions.''

"The combination of inflation pressures and a slowdown in economic growth are positive for gold,'' said Michael Widmer, an analyst at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in London. "There is limited scope for the U.S. dollar to move higher now. Some uncertainty has been removed.''