Gold prices at record highs; oil, grains also gain

Gold prices reached new all-time and closing records in New York on Tuesday as oil prices rose again and as the dollar weakened in relation to the euro.

February gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading at $880.30 per troy ounce at the close of floor trade after going as high as $884 per troy ounce earlier in the session.

There were also gains in other precious metals prices as March silver gained 56 cents to $$15.85 per troy ounce and April palladium was up $29.40 to $1,560.50 per troy ounce.

Among base metals, meanwhile, March copper added 16 cents to $3.30 per pound.

Crude oil prices were up again on Tuesday on new worries about violence against the oil industry in Nigeria and ahead of Wednesday’s weekly US inventories report from the Energy Information Administration.

West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $1.21 to $96.30 just before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude February contracts added $1.24 to $95.63 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex February gasoline gained 5 cents to $2.48 per gallon while February heating oil was 4 cents higher to $2.64 per gallon, but natural gas futures added 9 cents to $7.98 per million British thermal units.

Grains prices were also higher on the possibility that investors will continue to buy commodities as a way of hedging against inflation.

March wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade added 4 cents to $9.07 per bushel while March corn was up 12.75 cents to $4.78 per bushel and March soybeans gained 17.25 cents to $12.67 per bushel.

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