Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Fears of a recession sent gold futures into a record settlement Wednesday, their fifth in eight sessions, as its safety appeal pulled in investors spooked by a decline for equities worldwide. Gold futures for December delivery added $21.80, or 1.3%, to $1,666.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold traded as high as $1,675.90 an ounce, an intraday record for the metal. Gold has added $54, or 3.4%, since July 25th, the start of the metal�s most recent record run. The largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund recorded a 1.5% jump in holdings as of Tuesday, the latest day for which statistics are available.

Positive private-sector job figures paled as investors continued to worry about the U.S. economy. The rally continued as a private-sector payroll-services company reported more jobs in the U.S. private sector than analysts had expected and the day�s additional data points did little to curtail concerns about sluggish growth. While it is true the ADP report showed a larger-than-expected job gain, �We need 250,000 jobs to make unemployment figures go down,� said James Cordier, a portfolio manager with Optionsellers.com in Florida. �The troubles are so much larger now … gold still is the fear trade.� See full story.