Gold prices hit new record

Gold prices soared again Wednesday as investors worried that the European Union’s rescue package for Greece will not be sufficient to keep the debt crisis there from spreading to other European economies, while new that the US trade deficit grew in March also helped gold to gains.

May gold was up $24.70 to $1,244.60 per troy ounce in afternoon trade in New York, while earlier in the session June contracts went as high as $1,245.40 per troy ounce, a new intraday high for a most-active contract.

The gains came as investors saw gold as a safe place to put their cash, a sentiment underlined by a report from an Austrian mint that makes gold coins which said that its sales are up in Europe as small investors have started making purchases of its coins on the fear that the euro will lose value due to the debt crisis in Greece and on concerns that the crisis will spread.

Demand for the coins is said to be especially high in German, while there has been no visible jump in interest from buyers in the United States and Japan.

May contracts for platinum were also higher, adding $46.50 to $1,745.30 per troy ounce in afternoon trade, while among base metals, the price of copper fell 2 cents to $3.18 per pound.