Gold ends slightly higher on inflation worries

• Source: Xinhua
• [15:23 July 18 2009]
• Comments

Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange finished a little higher on Friday as the rising oil raised gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation. Silver and platinum went up, too.

Gold price for August delivery rose 2.10 US dollars, or 0.2 percent, to finish at 937.50 dollars an ounce.

Investors' concerns on inflation were refueled by recent bullish economic data, such as much rising CPI and PPI, better- than-expected new applications for unemployment insurance. Friday's strong oil gave investors another sign of potential inflation as the benchmark crude contract for August delivery surged 1.72 dollars to a two-week high of 63.74 dollars a barrel by the end of gold floor trading time.

Meanwhile, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. reported big second-quarter profits, following solid reports from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. earlier in the week. This further convinced investors that the economy is on the way to recover, which is probably leading to inflation in the near future.

September silver finished at 13.403 dollars per ounce, up 16.8 cents. October platinum rose 6.80 dollars to 1176.10 dollars an ounce.