Daily Gold Update

Source: MarketWatch

New York— Gold futures rose Tuesday for a second session, ending above $850 an ounce for the first time in more than a week as worries that the global economic recession will deepen raised the metal's appeal as a safe haven. President Barack Obama, taking power as the 44th U.S. president Tuesday, is formulating a fiscal stimulus package of more than $800 billion. The U.K. government Monday committed tens of billions of dollars more to revive its ailing financial sector.

"The great hope is that Obama's stimulus packages will lessen the effect of the deflationary slump," said Mark O'Byrne, executive director at Gold and Silver Investment. "But unfortunately, the job creating elements of the stimulus packages will take months to come to fruition and the crisis is far more immediate than that." Gold for February delivery rose $15.30, or 1.8%, to close at $855.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, ending above $850 for the first time since Jan. 9. The metal lost 1.8% last week, falling for a second week. See full story.