Gold futures rose to a record settlement as the sagging European economy spurred demand for the precious metal as an investment haven. The German economy, Europe’s largest, almost stalled in the second quarter as the region’s sovereign-debt crisis weighed on confidence. Germany and France are working on “ambitious” joint proposals to defend the euro, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said today. “Gold is the quintessential hedge when there are worries about the economy,” Dave Meger, the director of metal trading at Vision Financial Markets in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “The comments from Sarkozy provided further support.” Gold futures for December delivery rose $27, or 1.5 percent, to close at $1,785 an ounce at 1:45 p.m. on the Comex in New York. That’s the highest settlement ever. The metal has jumped 46 percent in the past year, reaching a record $1,817.60 on Aug. 11. Global equities fell for the first time in four sessions as France and Germany said they will propose a financial transaction tax and rejected the sale of common European bonds. “There are still far too many macro uncertainties at the moment, with softening economic readings,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said in a report. Silver futures for December delivery rose 51.1 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $39.848 an ounce on the Comex. The price has more than doubled in the past 12 months. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, palladium futures for September delivery climbed $10.15, or 1.4 percent, to $756.50 an ounce. Platinum futures for October delivery advanced $20.90, or 1.2 percent, to $1,818.10 an ounce on the Nymex. Earlier, it touched $1,828, the highest level since June 13. To contact the reporters for this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

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