Gold jumps on Fed bond buying news

Gold prices jumped on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a new round of bond buying.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback on a pro-rated scale against six major currencies, also gave gold support, dropping 0.54 percent to 79.28 on the International Exchange.

The Fed said it would spend $85 billion per month through the end of the year on bonds and mortgage-backed securities in a move meant to keep interest rates low and to push opportunities for borrowing.

Gold added $38.40 to close at 1,772.10 per troy ounce, a 2.21 percent gain. Silver added $1.48 cents to reach $34.77 per troy ounce, a 4.46 percent gain.