Lovers will spend US$4.8b on gold for Valentine's Day

New York

INVESTORS may have fallen out of love with gold, but romantics bolstered by a better economy are pushing US jewellery sales for Valentine's Day to the highest in at least five years.

After getting a raise in December, Robert Halabi now feels so confident that he's planning to buy jewellery for two women to celebrate the holiday. "All these years it was only for my mum, and now I can think of buying something for my girlfriend," said Halabi, a 26-year-old real estate broker, who spent Tuesday evening shopping for gold necklaces and earrings at the Macy's Inc flagship store in New York's Herald Square shopping district.