Gold passes $1,000 per ounce

The price of gold in New York rose above $1,000 per troy ounce Friday, for the first time in almost a year, as investors looked for safe places to put there cash amid falling equities markets and concerns about the global financial sector.

Most of the soaring demand for gold is due to investment rather than purchased by jewelry makers as investors worry that either the proposed government stimulus packages will not be enough to right the economy or that stimulus spending will send inflation higher.

April gold was $25.70 higher to $1,002.20 per troy ounce in New York while March silver was up 56 cents to $14.49 per troy ounce and April platinum gained $19.20 to $1,089.50 per troy ounce.

On the other hand, copper was down for the second week in a row as London Metal Exchange inventories grew to their highest level in over five years, showing that demand is not recovering.

May copper dropped 6 cents to $1.43 per pound in New York, while three-month contracts were $120 lower to $3,170 per tonne in London.

Copper prices have fallen 12.3 percent this week and last.