Gold hits new record high price

The price of gold reached new all-time and closing records in New York on Tuesday.

February gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading at $880.30 per troy ounce at the close of floor trade after going as high as $884 per troy ounce earlier in the session.

Both are higher than the previous record of $875 per troy ounce, set in 1980.

The gains came as the dollar weakened versus the euro, as oil prices soared more than $2 per barrel, and as investors looked for a safe place to put their money as inflation grew in both the US and in Europe.

Additionally, gold for immediate delivery added $23.12 to $881.28 per troy ounce in London, also a record high.

There were also gains in other precious metals prices as March silver gained 56 cents to $$15.85 per troy ounce and April palladium was up $29.40 to $1,560.50 per troy ounce.

Among base metals, meanwhile, March copper added 16 cents to $3.30 per pound, its highest in almost two months, as inventories in China declined last week and investors bet that demand won’t decline even though new data showed that pending home sales dropped more than had been expected in the US in November.