Gold rose to a record in London and New York on speculation that a weakening dollar and faster inflation will boost the appeal of precious metals. Platinum and palladium climbed to the highest price in more than a year.
Bullion, which usually moves inversely to the dollar, is on course for a ninth annual gain after the dollar dropped 6.3 percent this year against a basket of six currencies. Gold reached $1,065.65 an ounce in London, while futures climbed to $1,066.70 in New York, surpassing the previous highs on Oct. 8.
“There’s lots of concern about the weakness in the U.S. dollar and it’s this that has been driving gold,” Peter Fertig, the owner of Quantitative Commodity Research Ltd. in Hainburg, Germany, said by phone. “The fear that central bank exit strategies will come too late to prevent inflation is giving support to gold.”
Immediate-delivery bullion added $7.20, or 0.7 percent, to $1,064.30 an ounce by 9:52 a.m. local time. Spot prices have advanced 21 percent this year. December gold futures were 0.7 percent higher at $1,065.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division.
