Gold extends push past $1,000 - Weak dollar and inflation fears boost bullion

Gold extends push past $1,000 - Weak dollar and inflation fears boost bullion
By Chris Flood
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: September 16 2009 10:24 | Last updated: September 16 2009 10:24
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5a72046a-a2a1-11de-ae7e-00144feabdc0.html


Gold extended its push beyond the $1,000 mark on Wednesday, closing in on the record price set in March last year as bullion was boosted by renewed dollar weakness and concerns about the outlook for inflation.

Gold traded at $1,015 a troy ounce in London, moving between a low of $1,005.90 and a high of $1,017.75, after settling at the end of Tuesday’s session in New York at $1,005.90, its highest ever closing price.

The precious metal hit a record $1,030.80 in March 2008 and appears to be building momentum towards a challenge to that peak.

Speaking at the Denver Gold conference on Tuesday, Martin Murenbeeld, president of consultancy DundeeWealth Economics, said gold could rise above $1,110 an ounce in 2010 because there had been a change in central banks’ attitude towards bullion as part of their reserve strategy.

Crude oil prices dipped ahead of the latest US inventories data, with Nymex October West Texas Intermediate down 27 cents at $70.66 a barrel. ICE October Brent lost 36 cents at $69.50.

US crude stocks were expected to have fallen 2.4m barrels last week, according to a poll of analysts by Reuters, while petrol inventories were expected to rise 600,000 barrels and distillate stocks (including heating oil) to have increased 1.3m barrels.

Nymex October RBOB unleaded gasoline fell 1.6 cents to $1.7737 a gallon while Nymex October heating oil lost just under 2 cents at $1.7620 a gallon.

Dollar weakness boosted base metals, with copper up 0.6 per cent to $6,315 a tonne and aluminium up 0.8 per cent at $1,882 a tonne.