Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures settled at a record Monday, shooting higher after ratings agency Standard & Poor�s revised its outlook for U.S. debt to negative from stable, casting a pall over the finances of the world�s largest economy. Gold for June delivery added $6.90, or 0.5%, to $1,492.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It�s the latest in a string of records for gold, which last reached a record Friday when it settled at $1,486 an ounce. Early Monday, the precious metal had slipped in electronic trading, but reversed that loss after the ratings announcement. S&P maintained its triple-A rating on the U.S., but that didn�t stop investors from fleeing stocks and other growth-related commodities.

Crude-oil futures declined, as did copper, platinum and palladium. Silver, however, closed at a 31-year high, keeping its rally intact. Gold also caught a tailwind from concerns about Finland and Greece. In Finland, an anti-euro party made a strong showing in Sunday�s elections, sparking fears that Finland could slow or block a pending bailout package for Portugal. In Greece, a newspaper reported that officials had asked for a debt restructuring, which the Finance Ministry later denied. See full story.