Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday hiked for the fifth trading day, as concerns over the European debt problem and the U. S. economy pushed more funds into the gold market for safe-haven investment.
The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 7.6 U.S. dollars, or 0.5 percent, to 1,549.2 dollars per ounce, it even topped 1,550 dollars during the intraday trading and hit the day' s highest of 1,557.6 dollars.
Market analysts said that the spreading and worsening debt problem in Europe spurred huge safe-have demands for the precious metal. Besides, the woeful U.S. jobs data and stalemated negotiations on raising the country's debt ceiling added to the bullish sentiment.
Worries over the EU sovereign debt crisis intensified amid soaring Italian and Spanish government bond yields. The 10-year Italian government bond yield even jumped by around 30 basis points to 5.5 percent.
The bi-partisan tug of war regarding the raising of the United States debt ceiling continued in Washington, which, in combination with last Friday's poor unemployment number, has forced investors to choose gold as their "safe haven," said Mike Daley, a senior gold analyst with PFGBEST Group.
Gold gained four percent in the prior week.
However, silver for September delivery dropped 84.5 U.S. cents, or 2.3 percent, to 35.698 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery lost 5.1 dollars, or 0.3 percent, to 1,728.3 dollars per ounce.
