Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures closed at a record high and silver futures advanced to a fresh three-decade high on Tuesday as simmering tensions in the Middle East and North Africa, along with fears of inflation, drew investors to the metals. Gold for April delivery added $21.30, or 1.5%, to $1,431.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold�s gains picked up after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the increase in inflation from rising commodities prices will be modest and temporary.

Adam Klopfenstein, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago, said inflation-based gold trades are being made based on popular perceptions, given higher energy and food prices, rather than Bernanke�s view. �At the end of the day it�s what consumer thinks, so there is inflation,� Klopfenstein said. �The overall push is coming from jitters in the Middle East, with gold moving on a flight to safety and on an inflationary theme.� Silver for May delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained 61 cents, or 1.8%, to $34.43 an ounce. That was silver�s highest finish since early 1980, when it traded above $50 an ounce. See full story.