US gold futures jumped 6 percent to a one-month high on Friday, rallying above $790 an ounce on strong chart-based buying as investors fretting about stock market volatility flocked to precious metals as a safe haven. December gold rose $45.10, or 6 percent, to $793.70 an ounce at 11:29 am EST (1629 GMT) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Range $742.50 to $796.00, the highest price since October 21. Mounting fears about the economy prompted funds and investors to buy gold and precious metals as US stocks turned lower on Friday, a day after the Dow tumbled nearly 500 points. Buying should continue based on strong physical demand such as gold coins and less hedge fund selling, said RBC Capital Markets Global Futures Vice President George Gero.
Gold held up well despite lower crude oil and nearly unchanged dollar against the euro. COMEX estimated 10:00 am volume at 89,154 lots, and options turnover at 4,862 contracts.
Spot gold at $781.15, up 4 percent from Thursday's close. December silver rises 48.0 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $9.505 an ounce. Silver fabrication demand is expected to rise 1 percent year-over-year in 2008 on the back of increased physical coin hoarding, according to research firm GFMS. COMEX estimated 10:00 am volume at 10,691 lots. Spot silver at $9.40, up 5 percent from Wednesday's finish.
NYMEX January platinum rose $31.90, or 4 percent, to $822.00 an ounce, tracking gold's rally. Spot platinum fetched $807.00, 5.8 percent higher than Thursday's late quote. December palladium gains $3.35, or 1.9 percent, to $182.80 an ounce, rebounding from sharp decline in the previous two sessions. Spot palladium fetched $178.50, up 3.2 percent from its previous close.
Comments
Comments are closed.