Monday Open: $1,598.80
Weekly High: $1,602.70
Weekly Low: $1,542.80
Friday Close: $1,579.70

Despite continuing turmoil in North Korea and a few other global economic factors that might boost the price of gold as a safe haven, the yellow metal didn’t fare well this week. By mid-week, gold had hit a 10-month low, but gained enough to close the week in the $1,550 to $1,600 range.

Monday was a slow trading day due to the Easter holiday, but gold still took a modest gain from a weak dollar index and some safe-haven buying in response to the escalating conflicts in North Korea. The U.S. also released some economic reports from the manufacturing industry on Monday, which were lower than expected, also adding to the slight gains.

By Tuesday, however, the price of gold started to deteriorate and continued to plunge through Wednesday. No significant external price factors caused this tanking; heavy chart-based selling and automatic sell stop orders accounted for the sudden shift. General economic gains across the developed world may have a long-term impact on the lessening of interest in gold. Surprisingly, conflict in North Korea has not led to droves of demand for the safety of gold. Wednesday’s price point was a fresh 10-month low.

Thursday remained primarily unchanged, though a weaker dollar index pushed the price up to keep it around a level $1,555. Gold traders are tending to sell of their Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the gold market, according to reports on the first quarter of 2013. However, some bargain hunters are also entering the market to pick up physical gold.

Gold took a slight boost on Friday as weak U.S. employment data hit the news stands, indicating that the Federal Reserve will most likely not change their loose monetary policies anytime soon. The week’s dip in prices is also leading to increased interested in physical gold, especially in India and China.