Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures settled higher on Friday, stopping 90 cents short of a record as support came from fresh concerns about the U.S. debt ceiling. Gold for August delivery added $14.50, or 0.9%, to end at $1,601.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose as high as $1,607.70 an ounce intraday. Gold on Monday notched a nominal record of $1,602.50 an ounce.

Adjusted for inflation, gold would have to settle at about $2,400 an ounce to supersede a record around $850 an ounce reached in January 1980. Friday�s advance came after a three-day losing streak for the metal, which recently came under pressure amid a weaker dollar and as a plan to resolve the euro zone�s sovereign-debt issues reduced the metal�s safe-haven appeal. Now, �all eyes are on the debt-ceiling negotiations in the U.S.,� said James Steel, precious metals analyst with HSBC in New York. See full story.