Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures climbed more than $23 an ounce Wednesday to close at a record level as European debt contagion fears and the U.S. Federal Reserve�s hints at further economic stimulus fed investment demand. �Inflation and deflation have now been slugging it out for over a decade, and physical gold remains an obvious, sensible refuge for private savings caught in the middle,� said Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault.com, an online service for gold-bullion trading and ownership. �A European debt-default, plus QE3 in the States, would make the perfect storm yet again,� he said, referring to the potential for a third U.S. round of quantitative easing.

Gold for August delivery added $23.20, or 1.5%, to $1,585.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices, which marked their highest nominal settlement price, have now tallied a gain of almost $103 during a winning streak that, so far, has spanned seven sessions. The Fed is examining several untested means to stimulate growth if conditions deteriorate, including another round of asset purchases, dubbed QE3, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday in remarks prepared for the House Financial Services Committee. See full story.