CHICAGO, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange retreated from 4-weekhigh and dropped slightly on Friday as investors took profits ahead of weekend after a surprising surge in the previous session. Silver continued to gain and platinum ended lower.

    Gold price for April delivery was down 2.60 U.S. dollars, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 956.20 dollars an ounce, touching as high as 967.80 dollars earlier in the session, the highest level in 4 weeks. Despite dropping for four of the five sessions this week, gold finished up 26.20 dollars, or 2.8 percent higher.

    Gold rallied about 70 dollars per ounce, or 7.8 percent, after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday afternoon it would buy 300 billion dollars in long-term Treasuries and purchase 750 billion dollars in mortgage-backed securities. This decision sparked inflation concerns and strengthened gold's appeal as a hedge against rising prices and a weak dollar.

    Investors are accustomed to taking their profits ahead of weekend to hedge risk of uncertainty, especially when they faced an 8 percent yield in 2 sessions, said analysts.

    The dollar index ended higher for the first time in recent 9 sessions, and the rate against euro hovered near 1.3575 dollars, compared to Thursday's 10-week low of 1.3736 dollars. A weak dollar pressured gold somewhat and helped the decline.

    May silver closed at 13.84 dollars per ounce, up 32 cents. April platinum fell 7.60 dollars to 1,114.20 dollars per ounce.