Gold Futures Rally, Up More Than $4

US gold futures recovered more than $4 an ounce Wednesday reacting on an unexpected widening in the U.S. trade deficit dispatched the U.S. dollar sharply lower and spurred speculators and investors into dollar-alternatives such as gold.

The most-active gold February contract settled $4.20 higher at $426.60 per ounce on the COMEX.

The market got off to a slow start around $422 an ounce as players sat on
their hands ahead of the trade-balance news but soon burst to near the $424 area as the wider- deficit news took players across many markets by surprise.