Gold jumps, tagging on $34.90

Gold gained sharply Friday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, as the dollar index dropped 1.17 percent. Gold gained for the fifth consecutive trading session, adding $34.90 to $1,740.50. Gold is finding support from the weaker dollar and from anticipation of a third round of quantitative easing, which many expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to announce Thursday. Silver also rose, gaining $1.06 to $33.69 per ounce. The Canadian dollar rose against the greenback to 97.85 cents and the British pound rose to $1.6009. The euro reached $1.2816, while the dollar fell to 78.24 yen.