By Claudia Assis and V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures kept their rally Wednesday, touching an intraday record on their way to a settlement high mark as the metal’s safe-haven appeal pulled in investors amid a decline for equities worldwide.
Gold futures for December delivery GC1Z +1.72% climbed $28.30, or 1.7%, to $1,673.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
It traded as high as $1,675.90, an intraday record for the metal.
Gold ended at a settlement record of $1,644.50 an ounce on Tuesday. See more on Tuesday’s gold moves.
The move upwards continued as a private-sector payroll-services company reported more jobs in the U.S. private sector than analysts had expected.
That nudged U.S. stocks a tad higher, but equity markets in Asia tanked on worries the U.S. economy, the world’s largest, might be slowing down. European markets also tumbled.
The ADP report showed U.S. companies added 114,00 positions in July, compared to expectations around a 85,000 rise. Read more about ADP.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is schedule to report on official numbers, including government jobs, on Friday.
A weaker dollar further aided gold. The dollar index DXY -0.62% , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, declined to 74.070 from 74.496 late Tuesday in North American trading.
Gold and the U.S. dollar often move in opposite directions, as the yellow metal is priced in the U.S. currency, but the pair can rise in tandem when investors seek to avoid risk.
Silver followed gold higher, but the ongoing concerns about the economy took a toll on metals more closely linked to industrial activities.
September silver SI1U +3.86% added $1.44, or 3.6%, to $41.54 an ounce.
Copper for the same month’s delivery HG1U -1.18% declined 4 cents, or 1%, to $4.35 a pound.
Miners at the world’s largest copper mine, Chile’s Escondida, continued to strike on Wednesday as negotiations between the union and the mine’s owners entered their second day. The mine is mostly owned by BHP Billiton Ltd. BHP -1.75%
