Gold Ends Tues $18 Higher at New Record Highs as US Stock Market Sinks
From Chris Mullen at GoldSeek.com...
Gold Prices rose $15 in Asia on Tuesday, held near $875 per ounce in London and then rose even further by midday in New York to hit record highs above $881 before falling back off slightly in the last hour of trade.
The spot Gold Market still ended with a gain of 2.12% for the day at a new all-time high, while silver added 3.43% to reach its highest level since 1980.
The Gold Price in Euros climbed above €596, platinum gained $26 to $1547 to a new record high, palladium gained $5 to $375, and copper rose roughly 17 cents to $3.28.
Gold and silver mining equities rose over 5% in the first hour of US trade before they were dragged down as the major stock indices plunged, but they still ended with about 4% gains, just slightly below their all-time highs set two months ago on November 6th.
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P fell markedly on rumors of Countrywide – the largest US mortgage lender – facing possible bankruptcy. AT&T noted consumer softness and furthered concerns about the economy, worsened by a 2.6% drop in Pending US Home Sales reported for November vs. the 0.8% fall expected.
Consumer credit, however, leapt by $15.4bn, but that news failed to stop tech-stocks falling for the eighth straight running. The Dow ended the session more than 5% lower for the year so far.
There are no major economic reports due out tomorrow, but crude oil prices rose over 1% on Tuesday as traders prepared for perhaps the eighth weekly drop running in US inventories, due for release Wednesday. Geopolitical concerns mounted on tensions in Nigeria, Kenya and Pakistan.
The US Dollar index fell slightly after the worse-than-forecast Pending Home Sales data, but US Treasury bonds actually fell as the current negative yields after accounting for inflation failed to attract few buyers.
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