India, May 19 -- After ending last week's volatile trading sharply lower, the price of gold showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Monday.

Gold for May delivery surged $46.90 or 1.5 percent to $3,228.90 an ounce after plunging by 4.6 percent last week due in large part to a steep drop last Monday.

The significant increase by the price of the precious metal came after Moody's announced it has downgraded the U.S. debt rating by a notch to Aa1 from Aaa.

Moody's said the downgrade reflects the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.

Gold also benefitted from its appeal as a safe haven amid lingering trade uncertaint...