Gold futures extended previous-session gains Wednesday, climbing above $940 an ounce to their highest level in nearly seven months, as investors continued to buy the metal amid doubts on new economic rescue plans unveiled in the U.S. Gold for February delivery was up $30.20, or 3.3%, at $943.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose to $947.20 earlier, the loftiest intraday level for a front-month gold future since July. Trading more actively, the April contract rose 3.2% to $943.20 an ounce. Gold gained more than 2% in the previous session after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner introduced a new plan to rescue the ailing banking sector. The Senate also passed an $838 billion stimulus package Tuesday by a 61-37 vote. Markets, however, cast doubts on the plans. Stocks and crude-oil prices tumbled, while safe-haven buying pushed up gold and Treasury securities, as well as the U.S. dollar. It's "flight to safety, pure and simple," said Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers. More banks reported losses Wednesday: Credit Suisse swung to a fourth-quarter net loss of 6.02 billion Swiss francs ($5.2 billion), one day after another Swiss bank UBS AG ) said its loss for the three months ended Dec. 31 reached 8.1 billion Swiss francs ($6.92 billion). In Wednesday's trading, crude oil erased earlier gains, falling for a fourth straight session after data showed U.S. inventories rose for a seventh week. U.S. stocks made modest advance. But the gains in precious metals and Treasury securities continued, pushing up gold prices and the U.S. dollar, as investors continued to seek safety. After breaking the $940 mark, gold could rise to as high as $950 an ounce in the short term, said Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist at London-based CMC Markets. Most analysts are projecting gold to rise above $1,000 this year, as safe-haven buying and demand for gold as a hedge against inflation are expected to continue. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, hit a new record high of 894.72 tons as of Tuesday, up 1.5% from a day earlier, according to the latest data from the fund. The total was higher than that reported a month earlier by a margin of nearly 110 tons, or 14%. Other metals, equities Other metals were mixed Wednesday. March copper slid 2.9% to $1.53 a pound, while March silver rose 1% to $13.255 an ounce. March palladium gained 0.5% to $213.15 an ounce, and the April contract for sister metal platinum added 2% to $1,056 an ounce. The SPDR Gold Trust rose 2.2% to $92.15. In currencies trading, the dollar index rose 0.4% to 85.793. In other equities, shares of Barrick Gold Corp. the world's largest gold mining company, gained 3.5% to $38.41, while Goldcorp Inc. advanced 4.1% to $30.84, and South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd. rose 6.8% to $10.97. The Amex Gold Bugs Index , which tracks the share prices of major gold companies, added 4.6% to 307.78. The iShares Gold Trust ETF edged up 2.2% to $92.24, while the iShares Silver Trust ETF gained 2.9% to $13.35.

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