« A First! DeBeers Agrees to Settle One U.S. Lawsuit. | Main | Gold Up $11 This Week! »
Gold Hits 23 Year High!
Gold futures in New York raced to their highest level in almost 23 years on Thursday morning, powered by investment fund buying following the breakout above the key $500 an ounce level earlier this week.
The market's recent robust rally also hoisted the other precious metals, pushing silver to an 18-year high and lifting platinum and palladium prices sharply.
At the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, February delivery gold was up $6.30 at $505 an ounce by 10:51 a.m., trading from $494.30 to $505.70, which marked the highest price for an actively traded futures contract since February 1983.
At that time, gold reached a high of around $514 an ounce.
"It's fund buying right here," a COMEX floor trader said.
Gold has found favor with hedge funds diversifying into commodities to enhance returns, along with its classic role as a hedge amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical unease.
Also fueling gains were investors' worries about inflation, as well as expectations that Russia, Argentina and South Africa are friendly to boosting the amount of gold in their reserves, analysts said.
The latest peak in February gold surpassed the 18-year peak scaled on Tuesday in then-benchmark December gold, at $502.30.
"The $500 level was a psychological point and we broke through that," said Emanuel Balarie, senior market strategist at Wisdom Financial Inc. "With gold still rising today, I think we are going to crack $600 sometime in 2006."
Balarie felt that one reason gold had room to rise further was that bullion's high of $850, touched in 1980, after being adjusted for inflation today, would be now worth around $2,150 in current dollars.
"Gold is still very cheap when you look at it in that perspective," he said.
However, the COMEX floor trader noted that trade selling and some speculative profit taking had emerged at higher prices this week.
Next resistance was pegged above $505 and then at $506.70 -- its life-of-contract high from Tuesday, before it became the most actively traded month.
Chart support was viewed at $500, $498.40 and $497, traders said.
Dealers said the market was awaiting the U.S. November unemployment report on Friday for a potential reaction in trading.
Brokerage firm UBS said it raised its average per ounce gold price forecast for 2005 to $441 from $434, for 2006 to $520 from $455, and for 2007 to $500 from $435.
Spot gold was quoted at $500.50/501.30, against $494.10/4.90 at Wednesday's New York close. Thursday's afternoon fix in London was at $499.75.
March silver futures rose 15 cents to $8.535 an ounce, dealing from $8.29 to $8.555 -- the highest price since October 1987.
Spot silver fetched $8.42/44 an ounce, from $8.27/29 previously. The fix was at $8.315.
NYMEX January platinum gained $14.10 to $994.50 an ounce. On Monday, futures shot up to $1,011 -- their highest price since March 1980.
Spot platinum firmed to $988/992.
March palladium futures rose $12 to $272 an ounce -- a fresh 19-month high. Spot palladium was worth $265/268.
Stay tuned.
Comments
I would like to thnkx for the efforts you've put in writing this blog. I'm hoping the same high-grade website post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing skills has encouraged me to get my own website now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings fast. Your write up is a great example of it.
Posted by: suplementy on March 10, 2011 9:35 AM
I'll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)
Posted by: Authentic NFL Jerseys on April 7, 2011 11:56 AM
Th is is notApril primary, is it?
Posted by: Cheap rosetta stone on April 22, 2011 2:09 PM
My fonts logo catches my consideration each and every time I see it. That one particular is very good. Extremely fantastic publish!
Posted by: Christian Louboutin Pumps on April 23, 2011 2:51 PM
If you're still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you'll know which is right for you.
Posted by: Christian Louboutin Pumps on April 24, 2011 10:28 PM
First time I've v isited your blog?- good uncover! Thanks.
Posted by: rosetta stone software on April 25, 2011 9:41 AM
I really like your reading. Thanks a lot, you describe the topic very well
Posted by: sale asics on April 28, 2011 3:27 AM
How is it that just anybody can write a weblog and get as well-liked as this? Its not like youve said anything incredibly impressive --more like youve painted a fairly picture over an problem that you know nothing about! I dont desire to sound mean, here. But do you truly believe that you can get away with adding some pretty photos and not really say anything?
Posted by: Gap Year Travel Insurance on June 2, 2011 2:54 AM
Your blog is STELLAR! I mean, Ive never been so entertained by anything in my life! Your vids are best for this. I mean, how did you manage to locate something that matches your style of writing so properly? Im truly pleased I started reading this right now. Youve got a follower in me for certain!
Posted by: Insulated Lunch Bags on June 5, 2011 12:25 AM
I hope you by no means stop! This is among the very best blogs Ive ever read. Youve got some mad skill here, man. I just hope that you dont lose your style because youre certainly one of the coolest bloggers on the market. Please keep it up simply because the world wide web wants somebody like you spreading the word.
Posted by: Insulated Lunch Bags on June 5, 2011 2:52 AM
Hi. this is type of an -unconventional- question , but have other visitors asked you how get the menu bar to look like you have got it? I also have a blog and am truly looking to alter around the theme, nevertheless am scared to death to mess with it for fear of the search engines punishing me. I am quite new to all of this ...so i am just not positive specifically how to try to to it all however. I'll just maintain working on it one day at a time.
Posted by: Speaker Stands on June 5, 2011 12:45 PM
Youre so right. Im there with you. Your weblog is absolutely worth a read if anyone comes across it. Im lucky I did simply because now Ive got a whole new view of this. I didnt realise that this issue was so critical and so universal. You certainly put it in perspective for me.
Posted by: Gap Year Travel Insurance on June 5, 2011 2:54 PM
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so significantly about this, like you wrote the book in it or some thing. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is wonderful blog. A great read. Ill certainly be back.
Posted by: Gap Year Travel Insurance on June 5, 2011 7:25 PM
How could I've missed this weblog! Its extraordinary. Your design is flawless, like you know precisely what to do to do make men and women flock to your page! I also like the perspective you brought to this subject. Its like you've got an insight that many people havent seen just before. So excellent to read a blog like this.
Posted by: panoxyl on June 6, 2011 2:01 AM
I need to say that overall I'm actually impressed with this blog.It is straightforward to see that you are passionate about your writing. If only I had your writing capability I look forward to a lot more updates and will probably be returning.
Posted by: Nationwide Travel Insurance on June 12, 2011 5:27 AM
Valuable info and excellent design you got here! I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and time into the stuff you post!! Thumbs up
Posted by: Speaker Stands on June 12, 2011 3:10 PM