Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures rose to trade near a record high Monday, as weakness in the dollar and expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut boosted demand for the precious metal. Gold for February delivery rose $10.40, or over 1%, at $921.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, gold and platinum futures soared to records after severe power shortages forced major mining companies to shut down their operations in South Africa, the world's second-largest gold producer and the biggest platinum producer. Gold futures rallied as high as $924.30 an ounce and chalked up gains of $29 on the week.

Selling in equity markets overnight set the stage for renewed gains in gold as "investors seek to diversify their portfolios, factoring in some safe-haven type assets," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. "We have simply a huge week of economic data and the markets seem to be pricing in a few things — bad news, a larger than expected rate cut and a weak dollar," said Zachary Oxman, a senior trader at Wisdom Financial. "These trends were a major focus of the second half of 2007 and should continue to plague the markets in 2008." See full story.