NEW YORK — Gold briefly pushed past the psychologically important $1,000 mark Thursday, as investors poured money into the metal to hedge against a tumbling dollar, soaring crude prices and a shaky U.S. economy.
Gold’s rally lifted other commodities, with silver, platinum and soybean futures all trading higher. Crude oil hit a trading record of $111 but fluctuated between gains and losses, while copper futures fell.
Gold reacted swiftly to the dollar’s fall, rising to $1,001.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest ever. Traders later cashed in profits, leaving gold to settle at $993.80, still up $13.30 an ounce.
“The funds keep throwing big-time money at commodities and we’ve seen spikes in everything,” said Jon Nadler, analyst with Kitco Bullion Dealers in Montreal. “Gold continues to feed off that same fund attention and (the $1,000 level) will make headlines, but I think a lot depends on the closing levels.”
Gold had been flirting with $1,000 for the last two weeks but struggled to breach the barrier despite sharp drops in the dollar and crude’s record-setting rally. Despite achieving the milestone, gold remains well below its inflation-adjusted high of 1980. An ounce of gold at $1,000 then would be worth about $2,560 today.
Gold watchers will now turn their attention to Tuesday, when the Federal Reserve is expected to announce another interest rate cut in an effort to steady the limping U.S. economy. That could push the dollar even lower, encouraging investors to buy hard assets such as gold and silver, which are known for holding their value.
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