Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures settled at a record Monday as U.S. debt-ceiling talks to avert a default continued, with little progress toward a deal, and as a debt-ratings agency further downgraded Greece. Gold for August delivery, the contract with the most transaction volume, gained $10.70, or 0.7%, to $1,612.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as high as $1,624.30 an ounce, according to FactSet Research. Protracted U.S. debt-limit negotiations and concerns about Europe�s sovereign-debt crisis have pushed gold to a string of nominal records in recent sessions. Gold has gained 13% this year.

Adjusted for inflation, gold would have to settle at around $2,400 an ounce to supplant a record around $850 an ounce reached in January 1980. While the deadlock in U.S. talks took center stage Monday, Greece�s further downgrade also contributed to investors� run to assets deemed as safer. Moody�s Investors Service cut Greece�s credit ratings three notches on Monday, saying default is almost certain and warning that the bailout plan for the country sets a negative precedent. See full story.