Gold closes at new record in New York

Gold prices hit a new record closing high in New York Tuesday, ending the session up $8.20 to $1,259.30 per troy ounce, $2.10 higher than the previous high close of $1,257.20 per troy ounce, set on 18 June.

The gains for gold came as investors looked for safe places to put their cash in the wake of a new round of concerns about debt problems in Europe and their possible effect on banks there and on the global economy generally.

Besides the general concern about European debt, investors were also worried after German factory orders were reported 2.2 percent lower in July from June, against an expected rise of 0.5 percent.

Other precious metals, however, saw declines in New York trade as December silver fell 4 cents to $19.91 per troy ounce, October platinum was down $4.80 to $1,556.30 per troy ounce and December palladium dropped $8.25 to $523.20 per troy ounce.

Base metals were also mixed as investors backed away from risk in light of the new concerns about European debt, as the US dollar strengthened, which made the metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies, and as US and European equities markets declined.

December copper was 3 cents lower to $3.47 per pound in New York trade, while three-month contracts for the metal used in manufacturing and construction fell $76 to $7,629 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange even though stockpiles in LME-monitored warehouses fell 1,400 tonnes to 395.475 tonnes.

Zinc fell $7 to $2,189 per tonne in London, while lead was down $13 to $2,184 per tonne and aluminium dropped $29 to $2,164 per tonne, but nickel added $40 to $22,190 per tonne and tin gained $50 to $20,900 per tonne.