Related News:Canada · Commodities · Europe · U.S. .Gold Tops $1,500 on Outlook for Escalating U.S. Debt, Dollar
By Kyoungwha Kim and Pham-Duy Nguyen - Apr 19, 2011 12:45 PM ET
Business ExchangeBuzz up!DiggPrint Email . Gold bars and coins are displayed at Goldcore Ltd., in London. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
(Corrects year in sixth paragraph.)
Gold futures rose to a record $1,500.50 an ounce as U.S. debt concerns weighed on the dollar, boosting demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.
The greenback dropped against a basket of six currencies following Standard & Poor’s revision yesterday of its long-term rating of U.S. debt to negative from stable.
“Investors are shocked and flocking to gold as the downgrade threw a cold blanket over the dollar,” said Lim Chae Myung, a Seoul-based trader at Hyundai Futures Co. “The bullish trend becomes pronounced as more and more people get out of the dollar to buy hard assets.”
Gold futures for June delivery rose $2.40, or 0.2 percent, to $1,495.30 at 12:33 p.m. on the Comex in New York after reaching the record.
Gold for immediately delivery rose as much as 0.3 percent to an all-time high of $1,499.32 before erasing gains.
Before today, futures climbed 31 percent in the past year. Lim said the metal will reach $1,600 in 2011.
Gold has gained every year since 2001 on increased investment demand for commodities.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at kkim19@bloomberg.net; Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.