Gold touches new record of $1,045 / ounce in New York

Gold futures scaled a new record on concerns that declining currencies will stoke inflation and increase the demand for the yellow metal as a hedge against inflation.

Gold futures soared to a new record of $1,045 an ounce in intra-day trades in New York, breaching the previous record of $1,033.90 in March 2008. The December delivery contract settled at $1,039.70 per ounce, up 2.2%, or $21.90, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On the National Stock Exchange in India GoldBees is up 1% in morning Trade – INR 1564 / Gram.

Spot gold jumped 2.6% to a record $1,043.78. The metal has gained 18% this year.

Gold held in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, touched an all-time high of 1,134 metric tonnes seen on June 1 and was at 1,098.07 tonnes on Monday.

Silver futures for December delivery surged 4.6%, or 76 cents, to $17.295 an ounce on in New York. The metal climbed to a 13-month high of $17.69 on September 17 and is up 53% this year.