Gold Futures Tops $1,300 in Longest Rally Since 2011

Gold posted the longest rally since July 2011, topping $1,300 an ounce for the first time since November, after signs of faltering U.S. economic growth added to the increasing investor appetite for haven assets.

U.S. retail sales fell in January by the most since June 2012, and jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, government data showed today. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen said Feb. 11 that the recovery in the U.S. labor market is “far from complete.” Gold jumped 70 percent from December 2008 to June 2011 as the central bank pumped more than $2 trillion into the financial system.