Gold rallies for the week, ending slump

Gold is ended higher for the week. Some traders worried that gold would continue falling from the record high it reached this summer.Gold for December delivery closed at $1,683 an ounce Friday. Thats about 1 percent higher than Mondays price of $1670.80.The price of gold hit a record high of $1,891.90 an ounce on Aug. 22. Prices have fallen steadily since then. In early October, Credit Suisse analysts warned the summers rally in gold prices looked over-exuberant in hindsight. That report stoked worries of a crash in gold.This weeks gains suggest that gold may not fall below $1,650 any time soon, said RBC Global Futures analyst George Gero.Gold demand remains strong in part because of economic stimulus efforts in Europe and the United States, Gero said.European finance ministers are preparing plans to bail out banks and indebted nations in the region, while the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank is keeping interests rates historically low. Both mean that inflation could increase in the future, Gero said.That makes gold attractive, because many traders buy precious metals as a way to protect against inflation.