Gold was again on the rise today, as the New York Mercantile Exchange saw futures for December delivery rise $6.90, or 0.9 per cent, to hit $769.20 per ounce.
A key factor in today’s fresh rise was a new fall in the value of the dollar relative to other currencies, with a recent rally for the greenback coming unstuck on the back of increased weekly jobless claims.
Markets have recently showed particular sensitivity to wider economic data, as investors attempt to gage to what extent the sub-prime crisis has triggered a general slowdown in the US.
Growth indicators from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) compounded the worries of some bearish investors with a recent revision of US growth forecasts down nearly a whole percentage point.
Reacting to a fall of 0.7 per cent in the US currency on the dollar index that tracks the US currency against a basket of others, Jullian Phillips, an analyst at GoldForecaster.com, told MarketWatch that gold was the chief beneficiary.
“Gold is pausing at a higher level than expected as the dollar turns back from resistance at 78 on the dollar index and stares down to much lower levels,”