The Financial Post reports in its Friday, Feb. 20, edition that gold advanced back to around $5,000 an ounce after jumping 2 per cent on Wednesday, with some Asian markets closed for the Lunar New Year break and traders focused on the United States Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that bullion climbed as much as 0.9 per cent on Thursday, while silver gained as much as 3 per cent. Volatility in both metals has been exceptionally high in recent months, particularly since a historic rout at the end of January. A key focus for bullion's next decisive move will be the path of U.S. interest rates. Fed officials appeared surprisingly wary of cutting rates when they met last month, according to the minutes of the U.S. central bank's Jan. 27-28 policy meeting, released Wednesday. That could put the central bank on a collision course with U.S. President Donald Trump, complicating the task of the president's nominee for chair, Kevin Warsh. Mr. Trump has spoken in favour of lower borrowing costs, which would be a tailwind for non-yielding bullion. The dollar mostly held gains after rising on Wednesday following data underscoring a resilient American economy.