Oil prices soar after attack on Saudi oil facility

Gold and silver futures surged sharply on Friday along with crude-oil futures after a foiled terrorist suicide-bombing attack against a Saudi Arabian oil facility.

Gold and silver futures surged sharply on Friday along with crude-oil futures after a foiled terrorist suicide-bombing attack against a Saudi Arabian oil facility. April gold settled $10.30 higher at $561.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Spot gold rose $10.40 to $558.80. May silver settled up 26.9 cents at $9.825 an ounce.

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Crude-oil futures rose sharply Friday, and the metals followed, after a bombing attempt at Saudi Arabia's massive crude-processing facility at Abqaiq, one of the country's most important oil facilities. Suicide bombers in explosive-laden cars tried to attack the facility but were stopped when guards opened fire, causing the bombs to explode.

Dan Vaught, futures analyst with AG Edwards, said the Saudi attack was the main fundamental impetus for the sharp gain in gold, "as people consistently make the link between crude oil prices, inflation and gold."

The attempted attack in Saudi Arabia also attracted "safe-haven" buying, he said.

April platinum settled up $13 at $1,036 an ounce. June palladium settled up $2.75 at $292.55 an ounce, while March added $2.85 to $287.85 an ounce.