US gold futures climbed and held near a fresh quarter-century high today, as an early wave of profit-taking dried up when speculators added to their huge long positions in the metal, dealers said.
Today at the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, February delivery gold was up $1.80 at $519.60 an ounce, moving between $515.80 and $522.60. This was the highest price for benchmark futures since April 1981.
Traders and money managers have piled into gold recently on expectations for continued high metal prices, as well as overall commodities bullishness and economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
Other precious metals joined in the rally, which last week helped boost the yellow metal above the headline price of $500 an ounce. Platinum was near a 25-year peak atop $1,000 an ounce and silver pushed to 18-year highs close to $9 an ounce.
The record high for gold futures, hit in January 1980 after the oil shock and recession of the 1970s, was $873.
