Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures rose to a record Tuesday, spurred by continued fears of a worldwide slide into recession and as investors sought out an alternative to currencies. Gold for August delivery, the most active contract, added $7.60, or 0.6%, to $1,248.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold settled at a record $1,243.10 on May 12. "We see people buying gold for safety. Gold is in effect trading as a currency," said Frank Lesh, a broker and analyst at FuturePath Trading in Chicago. "Every couple of weeks you hear about more (sovereign) debt problems from a different country."

Gold also has set fresh record prices in euros, the British pound, the Indian rupee, the South African rand and the Chinese yuan, among others, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. "The strength of investment demand has offset weakness in physical supply and demand flows. … The motives to support continued interest in gold remain intact for now, thus prices are likely to retain their recent gains barring short-term corrections amid profit-taking," the Barclays analysts wrote Tuesday. Any dips, however, are likely to be met with more buying, said Wayne Atwell, a managing director with Casimir Capital in New York. "I've never seen gold this strong, this long," said Atwell, who has four decades of experience in metals and mining analysis. See full story.