Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Fears of economic gloom and doom helped gold rise to a seven-week high and silver post its best finish in eight weeks. Gold for December delivery added $7.90, or 0.6%, to $1,241.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver for September delivery added 65 cents, or 3.5%, to $19.03 an ounce. Most metals tracked gold higher, with the exception of copper. The gains stemmed from government reports on Wednesday showing a weaker-than-expected rise in orders for durable goods and a record-low pace for sales of new homes. For silver, Wednesday's settlement was also the biggest one-day increase since June.

"It's trite to say it, but silver really is performing as the poor man's gold right now," said Charles Nedoss, a senior market strategist with Olympus Futures in Chicago. As gold broke through the $1,240-an-ounce mark, some investors started to migrate to much cheaper silver, he said. Nearly 40,000 silver contracts changed hands on Wednesday, whereas an average of about 25,000 is the norm, Nedoss added. Investors are also starting to roll into the December silver contract. That contract added 64 cents, or 3.5%, to $19.07 a pound. See full story.