Gold prices rose as much as 1 percent as the dollar fell after Federal Reserve officials made cautious comments on interest rate expectations, while palladium hit a record high, driven by fears of supply shortages.
Spot gold jumped to $ 1225.29 an ounce, its highest level since Nov. 8, before cutting its gains to 0.7 percent at $ 1221.71 an ounce in late trading.
The yellow metal ended the week up more than 1 percent, its best performance in five weeks.
US gold contracts rose eight dollars, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $ 1223 an ounce.
Among other precious metals, palladium jumped 1.7 percent to $ 1176.20 an ounce, ending the week with gains of more than 5 percent. Earlier in the session, the metal hit a record high of $ 1185.40 an ounce, approaching the level of parity with gold for the first time in 16 years.
Silver rose 0.9 percent to $ 14.41 an ounce, ending the week with gains of more than 1 percent.
Platinum rose 0.5 percent to $ 844.90 an ounce but ended the week slightly lower.
