Gold futures climbed as much as 1% Friday and the benchmark contract was poised for a gain of more than $7 an ounce for the week as the precious metal took its cue from higher energy prices.

Gold for February delivery was last up $6.30 at $634.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It closed at $626.90 a week ago.

"The gold price is rallying higher with energy," said Peter Spina, chief investment strategist at GoldSeek.com.

Also, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke "brought some focus back to the deficit problems the United States is facing, and this is giving investors some renewed interest in the metal," he said.
From here, "gold still is expected to face some difficulty extending these gains much further under these circumstances, but there is some good support just below," he said.

"A range has developed here and it will take a breakdown in oil below $50 to bring gold back down to the low $600s or another rally in the U.S. dollar to keep gold from moving back to $650, where it faces some stiff resistance," he said.
On Thursday, gold prices fell back from a two-week high to close down more than $5, pressured by a sharp sell-off in the energy pits.