Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures settled at a seven-week high Tuesday as a jump in violence and protests in petroleum exporter Libya spurred safe-haven buying. Silver notched a fresh 31-year high, while metals more closely tied to industrial uses, such as copper and palladium, tracked the stock market lower and finished at multiweek lows. Gold for April delivery, the most active contract, added $12.50, or 0.9%, to $1,401.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was gold�s highest close since Jan. 3 and the metal�s seventh consecutive session of gains. Silver for March delivery gained 57 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $32.86 an ounce.

Silver also gained on the flight to safety, according to analysts at FastMarkets. Metals, �particularly gold and silver, are likely to remain underpinned as concerns about the stability of the Mideast region continue and investors opt for safe-haven asset types,� said James Moore, analyst at FastMarkets. Violence continued in Libya, sending oil prices to their highest levels in three weeks and dampening prospects for equities. Col. Moammar Gadhafi, in a statement broadcast by state television, vowed to remain in power and fight protesters till the end. See full story.