Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures rose 1.5% Tuesday after military hostilities on the Korean peninsula gave investors more reason to seek safety in the metal. Gains in gold for December delivery accelerated during the session, and the metal settled up $19.80 to $1,377.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose modestly Monday, helped by worries about European sovereign debt as investors wanted to hear more details about a bailout package for Ireland. North Korea and South Korea, however, have become the latest focus of worry for investors. The two countries exchanged artillery fire at a South Korean island near their western border, according to reports. South Korea�s military had gone to its highest state of alert.

A rising dollar kept gold prices from ballooning even higher. The dollar index, which gauges the U.S. unit against a basket of six other currencies, gained 1.2% to 79.615. The euro declined sharply, following comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the European currency�s fragile state ahead of the Irish rescue. The single currency recovered somewhat later on. See more on trading in the dollar and other global currencies. Silver, meanwhile, wobbled after opening higher, at times dipping in the red. See full story.