The most active gold contract for December delivery climbed 9.1 U.S. dollars, or 0.7 percent, to finish at 1,354.4 dollars per ounce, the price touched an intraday high of 1,356.3 dollars per ounce earlier in the session.

The U.S. dollar index inched up 0.43 percent to 77.51 Monday morning, although the strengthening dollar has added some downward pressure on gold, but it failed to outweigh the aggressive buying from bargain hunters, who take advantage of any price pullbacks to expand their net long positions.

The dollar-denominated precious metal usually moves against the dollar, as a stronger greenback makes it more expensive for buyers using other currencies. The bullion has been hitting record highs for 15th times since early September on mounting expectations that Federal Reserves will soon reintroduce the quantitative easing monetary policy which will weaken the dollar and boost the inflationary pressure in coming years.

December silver surged 24.4 cents, or 1.1 percent, to 23.349 dollars. January platinum lost 17.9 dollars, or 1 percent, to 1, 690.8 dollars per ounce.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet