By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures edged higher into fresh record territory during electronic trading in Asian hours Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar, as investors’ debt worries shifted to the U.S.
Gold for August delivery GC1Q +0.42% added $2.10, or 0.1%, to $1,587.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange in a see-sawing Asian session, having earlier traded in negative territory.
The metal closed out the North American session at a nominal record settlement of $1,585.50, with buying supported by the possibility of more stimulus being pumped into the U.S. economy and global debt worries.
“Gold prices continue to flourish amid the macro-uncertainty as a flight to safety boosts interest,” analysts at Barclays Capital said.
U.S. debt concerns took center stage after Moody’s Investors Service downgraded government debt, as the deadline for politicians to settle debt ceiling negotiations drew closer. Read more on Moody’s. U.S. debt ceiling talks.
The dollar declined in reaction to the downgrade, despite the agency warning of the move last month.
The dollar index DXY -0.02% , which measures the U.S. unit’s performance against a basket of six other major currencies, slipped to 74.881 from 75.213 in late North American trading Wednesday ahead of the Moody’s warning. Read more about currencies.
The greenback tends to trade inversely to dollar-priced commodities including metals.
The wider metals complex diverged during Asian trading hours.
Silver ticked higher, extending the 7.1% gain of the previous session, with the September contract SI1U +2.93% tacking on 4 cents, or 0.1%, to $38.19 an ounce.
September copper HG1U -0.14% lost one cent, or 0.3%, to $4.39 a pound.
Platinum for October delivery PL1U 0.00% added $1.60, or 0.1%, to $1,768.60 an ounce, while the September contract for palladium PA1U +0.19% , platinum’s sister metal, gained $1.50, or 0.2%, to $782.50 an ounce.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
