Gold futures rose to a record $1,300 an ounce in New York as investors sought a protection of wealth and an alternative to a weakening dollar. Bullion traded at an all-time in London and silver reached the highest price since 1980. The dollar headed for a weekly drop against the euro on concern the Federal Reserve is moving closer to boosting debt purchases, while European equities declined. Gold, which usually moves inversely to the greenback, advanced to a record for the fourth day this week. Silver, which is used in industrial applications, headed for a fifth weekly advance in London. “Gold is showing there is no confidence in the dollar,” said Bernard Sin, head of currency and metal trading at bullion refiner MKS Finance SA in Geneva. Recent “data has been showing signs of a troubled economy. That’s why we’ve seen this huge buying for investors as a safe haven.” Gold futures for delivery in December added as much as 0.3 percent to $1,300 an ounce and traded at $1,299.40 at 5:16 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Gold for immediate delivery advanced 0.5 percent to a record $1,298.38 an ounce and was last at $1,298.05. Gold, up 18 percent this year in London, is heading for its 10th consecutive annual gain, the longest winning streak since at least 1920. Bullion has outperformed global equities, Treasuries and most industrial metals, prompting record investments in gold-backed exchange-traded products. The metal rallied as central banks and governments maintained low borrowing costs and spent trillions of dollars to stimulate their economies. Silver for immediate delivery climbed as much as 1.2 percent to $21.3875 an ounce in London and was last at $21.3425. To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.

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