Monday Open: $1,235.40
Weekly High: $1,298.00
Weekly Low: $1,233.70
Friday Close: $1,284.40

In light of all the major losses gold has been suffering lately, gold bugs will be happy to know that this week charted gains in the yellow metal’s corner. With a major spike caused by “Fed speak” on Thursday, gold is now reaching up toward the $1,300 mark.

Monday opened positively for gold, prices reacting to a slight slump in the dollar index after the greenback had hit a three-year high last Friday. Conflict in Egypt is still on the world’s radar, and while nothing extreme happened overnight, gold takes its place once again as a safety fund in times of crisis.

Tuesday’s price gains were caused by economic reports out of China that relayed higher inflationary rates in the country. China’s consumer price index for June was up to 2.7%, higher than the 2.1% of May and the forecast of 2.5%. Inflation, or the threat of inflation, brings more attention back to gold as a hedge fund.

The really big day of the week for gold was Thursday – the FOMC had a meeting on Wednesday, which consisted of more deliberation than action, and no conclusive evidence for any changes in Fed policy in the near future, which caused a major price jump on Thursday. One of the major issues of the meeting was how to convey the Fed’s policies to the public. What is now being called “Fed speak” to refer to the statements issued by Chairman Ben Bernanke is a good sign for gold right now. The result of the meeting is that now the Fed expects to employ its “tapering” program later instead of sooner.

Friday reported a few losses in mixed trading, but nothing too substantial to undo the gains from the day before.