Daily Gold Update

Source: CBS.Marketwatch

Washington— Gold futures ended near their highs Wednesday, a session marked by silver continuing to show surprising strength.

Expectations for generally higher commodity prices roiled financial markets, and weakness in the U.S. dollar helped give gold a fresh lift.

In addition, a multibillion-dollar mining acquisition caught the attention of investors for the second time in as many days. The benchmarks tracking mining stocks came off their best levels but remained higher on the day.

Gold for April delivery added $1.80 to close at $442.90 per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The benchmark contract rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday.

Overnight, Merrill Lynch forecast the price of gold reaching $450 an ounce by May, reflecting in part jewelry-related demand coming from India in time for the nation's traditional wedding season.

Meanwhile, March silver gained another 10.2 cents to end at $7.604 an ounce, this on the heels of a 14.3-cent rally on Tuesday.

Copper prices also resumed probing their highest levels in 10 years. The March copper contract added 0.45 cent to close at $1.502 a pound.

April platinum rose $1.60, finishing at $874.80 an ounce. June palladium traded lower throughout Wednesday's session, closing off $2.25 to $207.45 an ounce.

In a research note, J.P. Morgan took a bullish stance on the so-called base metals, raising its forecasts by 5.5 percent for 2005 and by 2.7 percent for 2006.

According to the latest inventories data compiled by Nymex, copper fell by 153 short tons to stand at 46,367 short tons as of Tuesday's close of business compared to the prior day. Gold held steady at more than 5.913 million troy ounces, while silver inventories were unchanged at more than 101.49 million troy ounces.