After a slightly extended up-and-down effort to take hold of the $1,300 level, gold prices wasted little time moving past $1,400. The Monday (November 8) gold spot rate is $1,406.30 in lunchtime trade on the New York NYMEX.

Gold has surged once again on the heels of last week’s Federal Reserve announcement that it was going to buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds to infuse cash into the US economy.

Friday’s New York close for gold as $1,394.10 per ounce. Speculators pushed gold to just over $1,200 for the first time in November of 2009, but prices quickly retreated and moved up and down for about ten months before the first break of $1,300 came the last week of September 2010.

It has taken just over a month for the move from $1,300 to $1,400 to develop, thanks in large part to the strong momentum after the break of $1,300 and the latest developments surrounding the Central Bank’s aggressive easing decision to spark the economy.

Some analysts have suggested that gold could move as high as $1,800 to $2,000 during 2011, assuming the Fed maintains a low interest rate policy and economic conditions in the world do not turn dramatically more prosperous.

Interestingly, gold broke $1,400 on the same day that the dollar received a boost against foreign currencies. One euro is worth $1.3916 after closing last week on a high near $1.42. A pound nets $1.6121, down about pip.

One dollar is also fetching 81.22 yen as it continues to hold up above 80 yen. Speculators appear to be taking some profit on recent dollar weakness following the Fed’s easing intervention announcement.

Weight the Fed move with the current economic condition and ongoing data reports has created a state of uncertainty in most speculative markets.

The Fed appears positioned to contribute to a weaker dollar, which bodes well for gold prices. However, if jobs reports continue to improve and Americans show more confidence in the economy. A higher near-term dollar could be in store.