Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures settled modestly up on Monday, buoyed by fresh doubts about the global recovery in light of destruction in Japan and ongoing concerns about euro-zone sovereign debt and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. Gold for April delivery added $3.10, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,424.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. �The bottom line is, people look at gold as money� anytime unrest or natural disasters hit, said Michael K. Smith, president of T & K Futures and Options Inc. in Florida.

Given the European sovereign debt crisis, geopolitical instability in oil producing nations, and continuing concerns about the global economy, Japan�s quake �could not have come at a worse time both for the indebted Japanese economy and the global economy,� added analysts at GoldCore in a note to clients Monday. The Japanese started their search-and-rescue operations over the weekend only to find out there was nothing much left to rescue after Friday�s quake. Fears that the nuclear reactors, damaged by the quake, are at risk of a meltdown added to the country�s woes. See full story.