Business | Markets
Gold hits fourth straight record as dollar tumbles
Gold edged closer to $1,000 an ounce on Monday, setting a record high for the fourth straight day as the dollar tumbled and as crude oil held near an all-time high.
- Agencies
- Published: 18:00 March 3, 2008
London: Gold edged closer to $1,000 an ounce on Monday, setting a record high for the fourth straight day as the dollar tumbled and as crude oil held near an all-time high.
Silver jumped to $20 an ounce for the first time since November 1980, while platinum and palladium held near their recent highs.
Gold jumped as high as $984.60 an ounce and was quoted at 978.00/978.90 by 5:40 a.m. ET, up from $973.30/973.75 in New York on Friday.
Gold has gained around 18 per cent in 2008 as investors shift some of their money into the precious metal on expectations of more interest rate cuts in the United States, volatile stock markets and fears of rising energy costs.
"It clearly needs further weakness in the dollar to do that (reach $1,000), but it doesn't look inconceivable," said Stephen Briggs, economist at SG Corporate and Investment Banking.
The dollar fell to a record low against a basket of currencies on Monday, as concerns about the health of the US economy intensified.
Crude oil held steady near $102 a barrel, supported by a falling US dollar and expectations that Opec would leave its output unchanged.
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