Gold settles at record, $2000 within sight 

http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/gold-settles-at-record-2000-within-sight/story-e6frg2r3-1226118650020GOLD futures surged to another record overnight as investors held a dim view of global growth prospects and sought instead the perceived safety of the metal. 

 

Gold for December delivery advanced $30.20, or 1.7 percent, to $1852.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as high as $1,881.40 an ounce, an intraday record for the metal.
"We could hit $2,000 as early as next week sometime at this rate, certainly in the next weeks," said Matt Zeman, head trader and strategist at Kingsview Financial in Chicago.
Gold's fast rise has been of some concern, he added. It could end with a selloff that would shave $200 to $100 off current prices, although underlying fundamentals for the metal are favorable, Zeman said.
"It is starting to look a little bit bubbly," he said.
Gold added 6.4 percent in the week. It has gained 14 percent this month, having ended July at $1,631.20 an ounce.

Friday's record supplants the previous high-mark hit on Thursday, when gold ended at $1,822 an ounce.
Investors have flocked to gold as a slew of recent macroeconomic reports pointed to a wobbly US economy and very little reason for optimism -- including Thursday's downbeat reading on factory activity in the Philadelphia region.
Investors have also worried about the health of European banks and the eurozone's ongoing sovereign-debt crisis.
Earlier this week, a meeting between French and German leaders failed to assuage markets the eurozone in on the mend.
Even news that Venezuela intends to nationalize its gold industry and repatriate its overseas gold reserves is unlikely to dent gold's appeal, said strategists at Capital Economics.
"Venezuela is running desperately low on dollars, suggesting that the repatriation of the gold reserves would be a precursor to their sale," they said.
However, "we suspect that Venezuela would find some very willing buyers elsewhere given the continuing high demand for gold as a safe-haven," the strategists added.
Most metals traded higher Friday, with silver for September delivery adding $1.74, or 4.3 percent, to settle at $42.43 an ounce.