CN: Commodities: Gold touches new record while other metals fall
NEW YORK — Gold touched another record Thursday and settled higher.
Gold for February delivery jumped to a record $1,227.50 before settling up $5.30 at $1,218.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Investors have been pushing into gold for much of 2009 to protect against an eventual rise in prices brought by a sliding dollar. The advance Thursday occurred even while the greenback rose.
Other metals fell. March silver settled down 19.7 cents at $19.128 an ounce. March copper settled down 1.35 cents at $3.2450 a pound after reaching $3.2745. December platinum fell $12.60 to $1,492.70 an ounce.
Also at the Nymex, energy prices fell after the government said the amount of natural gas in storage posted a surprise increase.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell 14 cents to settle at $76.46 a barrel. Heating oil for January delivery rose 1.31 cents to settle at $2.0495 a gallon and gasoline rose less than a cent to settle at $1.993 a gallon. Natural gas fell 7.1 cents to settle at $4.459 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Grain prices mostly fell at the Chicago Board of Trade. March wheat futures slid 4.5 cents to $5.7150 a bushel. Corn for March delivery lost 5.75 cents to $4.0075 a bushel.
January soybeans rose 13 cents to $10.47 a bushel.
