February 28, 2008	Thursday	Safar 20, 1429

LONDON, Feb 27: Gold surged to a record high above $960 on Wednesday as investors poured money, spurred by a plummeting dollar and oil rising above $102 a barrel.

Silver rallied to its loftiest level since November 1980.

Palladium jumped to a 6-1/2-year high, while platinum gained 1.7 per cent to trade near last week’s record highs.

Spot gold rose as high as $964.70 an ounce and was quoted at $958.40/959.20 at 1113 GMT, against $946.60/947.40 in New York late on Tuesday. It has gained 16 percent this year.

“The main driver is the record low US dollar, but apart from that, gold should remain fairly well supported even if the currency retracts,” said Walter De Wet, precious metals analyst at Standard Bank.

Equities are currently high risk investments and still have negative returns for the year. US Treasury is a traditional safe-haven, but there is also not a lot of value.

And then what you left with is gold. There is room for gold to move higher as there are pretty bullish conditions. The dollar slid to an all-time low versus a basket of currencies after weak data underscored the gloomy outlook for the US economy and comments from a top Federal Reserve official cemented views for more US rate cuts.---Reuters