24/08/07: US Gold futures rise

Early trading on Friday (August 24th) saw gold futures make gentle progress, as the dollar fell against other major currencies.

According to a Reuters report today, "jittery bullion investors added light positions ahead of the weekend", but analysts are still reluctant to commit to predictions for the precious metal.

"The outlook of gold all depends on the level of fear in the market, the credit and the subprime issue. That's really driving it," Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management in Evanston, Illinois, told Reuters.

According to the new figures, most-active gold for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange reached $670.30 an ounce, up by $1.90, and trading between $666.70 and $671.70.

Mr Kaplan told Reuters that there is still a great deal of turbulence in the financial markets and suggested that gold has been reacting like all other assets.

"Everybody is kind of nervous about [the credit squeeze], and gold is not cheap up here. Gold has simply been following the subprime issue like everything else," he added.

Evidence of the prevailing uncertainty came on August 23rd, when gold dropped in New York on the back of further declines in the stock market. Investors have been forced to sell gold to raise cash and this has inevitably affected its price.