August 26, 2009
Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended higher on Tuesday as dollar went down, but gains were limited by falling oil. Silver was up, but platinum inched down.
Gold price for December delivery rose 2.30 U.S. dollars, or 0.2 percent, to finish at 946 dollars an ounce.
Buoyed by a weak dollar, which raised gold's appeal of hedging dollar's depreciation risk earlier in the session, the precious metal climbed to as high as 956.30 dollars. That is more than 12 dollars above the previous closing price.
However, gold's rally in the morning session was weighed by plummeting crude oil in New York. The benchmark oil contract for October delivery tumbled 2.26 dollars, or 3 percent, to 72.11 dollars per barrel by the end of gold floor trading time. Oil's drop is usually considered as a sign that the inflation risk is waning. As a result, gold had to give up most of its earlier gains.
On economy front, the Conference Board reported consumer confidence index rose to 54.1 in August from 47.4 in July, well above economists' expectations of 48.0. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office estimated U.S. budget deficit will total 1.6 trillion dollars in 2009.
December silver finished at 14.346 dollars per ounce, up 11.5 cents. October platinum fell 30 cents to 1,247.80 dollars an ounce.