Gold prices remain in record territory

Gold prices were a bit higher in New York on Wednesday, remaining in record territory after significant gains on Tuesday.

February gold added $1.60 by near the close of floor trade on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange to $881.90 per troy ounce.

Analysts believe gold will go even higher if the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates, as it is expected to do later this month.

Goldman Sachs has predicted that US rates will be at 2.5 percent by the end of 2008 after having fallen by 1 percent to their current level of 4.25 percent in 2007.

March silver also saw gains Wednesday, adding 2 cents to $15.82 per troy ounce, but April platinum was $1.50 lower to $1,559 per troy ounce.

Meanwhile among base metals, March copper dropped 1 cent to $2.39 per pound in New York after Goldman Sachs analysts also said that it is likely that the US is in the process of falling into a recession.

A recession in the United States would slow global economic growth and diminish demand for copper and other industrial metals.

Some analysts, however, feel that demand from China, which is showing sings of growing, could help the price of copper.