Oil Rises Above $80, Gold Near Record High on Dollar

Christian Schmollinger and Kim Kyoungwha
Bloomberg
Tuesday, Oct 20th, 2009

Oil rose above $80 a barrel for the first time since October last year in New York while gold traded near an all-time high as the dollar slipped to a 14-month low against the euro, boosting the investment appeal of commodities.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback again six major currencies, fell to its lowest since August 2008, declining 0.4 percent 75.181 at 3:40 p.m. in Tokyo. Other commodities also posted gains, with copper making a six-week high in Shanghai, rubber advancing to the most in a year and corn reaching the highest in three months.

“The dollar seems to be trending in the 75 to 76 range against the basket and I’m looking for further downside on that, so I expect it will underpin oil prices,” said Peter McGuire, a managing director at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Certainly demand is going to increase in the coming years.”

Crude oil for November delivery rose as much as 44 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $80.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first time the front-month contract has traded above $80 since Oct. 14, 2008. It was at $79.80 a barrel at 2:49 p.m. Singapore time. Gold for immediate delivery was up 0.3 percent at $1,066.97 an ounce at 2:50 p.m. in Singapore, after earlier showing a loss of 0.2 percent.

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