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Gold prices inched up on Monday, underpinned by inflation concerns, but a more optimistic economic outlook and worries about interest rate hikes kept bullion from rising further.

Gold held near $1,350 an ounce on Monday after the metal's first weekly rise this year supported investor confidence in the metal, though a more optimistic view of the global economic outlook is continuing to weigh on prices.

The price of gold is at a critical juncture. What happens in the next couple of weeks can determine whether the metal's spectacular rally will continue or fade.

Gold rose over 1 percent in choppy trade on Thursday, with a sudden jump by over $20 per ounce within minutes as large buy orders were apparently triggered in the future markets. This comes unexpected to precious metals experts, as the gold price was supposed to be kept low by the usual large Wall Street players during todays speech by Bernanke, and was set to rally on Friday, when unexpectedly bad labor market numbers will come in and drive gold prices higher.

Gold prices eased a touch in Europe on Wednesday after well received U.S. economic data and a spate of upbeat corporate earnings deflected interest away from bullion on to higher-risk, higher-yielding assets.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday on strong earnings and merger activity, overshadowing concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt which had caused a sharp selloff in world stocks on Friday.

[Gold] buying continued on fears the unrest in Egypt will spread across the Middle East, says Richcomm Global Services in Dubai. But Asia's gold market is less sensitive to what happened in Middle East compared to New York, said a Hong Kong dealer in a note this morning.

Gold fell more than 2 percent on Thursday, after a raft of positive economic data from the United States and more hawkish signals from some other central bank officials have sparked speculation that certain major economies would move to raise interest rates sooner than previously thought.

Emerging stocks edged down on Tuesday as inflation worries persisted and weaker metals prices knocked South African shares and the rand.

Gold continues to form a long consolidation pattern which has lasted basically for the final quarter of 2010, says Phil Smith in his chart analysis for Reuters' clients. [On] the possible topping [head-and-shoulders] pattern I've been looking at...we have now broken the neckline. Watch for a decisive break below this line. The target for this topping pattern is $1230.

2011 will mark 40 years since the United States' government finally stopped redeeming its dollars for gold. That ended over 250 years of formal gold backing for the West's dominant currencies. It also took the entire world off precious-metal money for the first time in 5,000 years of civilization.

By lunchtime in London – and compared with New Year 2011's record highs – the Gold Price in Dollars stood 6% lower, in Euros 7.5% down, and in British Pounds nearly 9% lower.

Reports that some financial institutions have started to exit their gold positions have been circulating this week, says French bank and London bullion dealer Natixis in its latest commodity analysis. Physically-backed ETF trust funds shrank almost 1% this week on Natixis' data - the sharpest weekly drop since we started keeping records in 2008.

Gold fell like a stone on Thursday, following three days of gains, and ignored a recovery in the euro as investment demand waned. Spot gold fell over $20 to $1,348.55 an ounce by 1426 GMT.

Gold rose for a third straight day on Wednesday on a weaker dollar and strong Asian physical demand, while platinum and palladium hit multi-year highs on an improving global economic outlook.

The South African rand fell to its lowest in five weeks on Friday, as the central bank mopped up dollar supply as a measure to curb currency strength, while waning global risk appetite also weighed.

Gold fell in Europe on Friday after China's central bank raised lenders' reserve requirements by 50 basis points, with softer haven demand for the metal after solid bond sales by Portugal and Spain also weighing on prices.

The Euro extended its rally on the currency markets, spiking to a 4-week high vs. the Dollar of $1.3450 before easing back. Thus, Gold priced in Euros dropped almost 5% from Monday's near-record high.

Talking to people in the Chinese market over the weekend, writes Jeff Toshima, Tokyo director of the World Gold Council, in today's Nikkei Money, I was amazed to discover the number of gold saving accounts at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has grown above 1,000,000 within a year of ICBC launching the service.

Topics of this interview include Scott Carter highlighting the global dynamic of today's interest in gold, and how macro-economic trends continue to drive the decade long bull market of the precious metals. We also evaluate the possibility of seeing QE3 in 2011.

The Gold Price in Dollars slid to a near 6-week low in early London trading on Friday, dropping below $1360 an ounce, but then bounced back to $1369 as New York trading began and Non-Farm Payrolls showed a rise of 103,000 - below analyst forecasts - and the labor-force participation rate slipped further below two-in-three.

In this piece, we will examine four of gold's most important rules; the irreversible trends affecting the gold price; and how the consequences of these trends will push gold higher in 2011 and beyond.

Silver and Gold Prices both unwound the last of late Dec.'s gains in early London trade on Wednesday, retreating to $29.20 and $1370 respectively per ounce on what several analysts called profit taking as world stock markets also fell.

Studying the structure of open interest in US Comex Gold Futures and options, it points to more volatility and the risk...is very much to the upside, says O'Connell, concluding that professional traders are looking for a Gold Price of $1500 or even $1600 by the start of April.

Gold prices will keep rising over the next two years to hit $1,600 per ounce by the end of 2011 and $2,000 by end of 2012, as fresh shocks to the global financial system are expected, an analyst has said.

The world's largest exchange traded gold fund - the New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore-listed SPDR Gold Trust - added 15 tonnes to its holdings on Friday, the largest one-day addition since the height of the Greek deficit crisis in May.

Prices to Buy Gold held firm in London on Friday, ending of what one London trader called another roller-coaster week some 1.7% lower for Dollar and Sterling investors but unchanged vs. the single Euro currency.

Outside the US and UK - where today's no change decision from the Bank of England left interest rates near 33-year lows beneath inflation - emerging economies are also flirting with sub-zero real rates of interest, Japanese investment bank Nomura's London office notes.

Germans are now the world's number one Gold Bar buyers. Germany's swivel-eyed gold bugs simply show more imagination than journalists, policy-makers and academic economists.