Gold may rise to a record, possibly driven higher by weakness in the dollar, should the precious metal first clearly hold above $950 an ounce. Gold, which tends to move in the opposite direction to the U.S. currency, reached a record $1,032.70 an ounce on March 17, 2008 and last rose to more than $950 an ounce on March 23. The precious metal traded today at $928.15 an ounce at 2:22 p.m. in Singapore, about 2.3 percent less than the $950 threshold.
The yen and the dollar advanced against higher-yielding currencies after economic reports showing the global recession may be prolonged spurred demand for the relative safety of the two currencies. The yen rose versus all 16 of the most-traded currencies after Japan reported that the world's second-largest economy shrank at a record pace. The euro slid against the dollar after a German report showed producer prices fell at the fastest rate in almost 22 years.
Japan's currency advanced to 130.03 per euro as of 7:48 a.m. in London, from 130.81 in New York yesterday when it fell to 131.85, the weakest level since May 13. The dollar rose to $1.3604 per euro from $1.3630. The yen climbed to 95.63 per dollar from 95.97.
