Gold prices pushed up by bigger US trade deficit

The price of gold was higher Friday after the US dollar weakened on new data showing that the US trade deficit grew in September.

The report said that the trade deficit added 18.2 percent from August to September, to $36.5 billion dollars.

December gold was up $10.20 to $1,116.80 per troy ounce in New York trade, while December silver was 13 cents higher to $17.39 per troy ounce and January platinum gained $25.50 to $1,388.70 per troy ounce.

The falling dollar also created more demand for copper as a better, safer place for investors to put their money even though copper inventories monitored in both London and Shanghai were up again.

Stockpiles of the metal used in construction and manufacturing were up to 104,939 tonnes in Shanghai this week, the highest levels in five and a half years, while London Metal Exchange-monitored inventories gained on the session to 403,625 tonnes, their highest in over six months.

March copper was up 3 cents to $3 per pound in New York, while three-month contracts were up half a percent to $6,536 per tonne in London.