Gold hits record near $1,200

London - Gold hit record highs near $1,200 an ounce on Tuesday as dollar weakness fuelled buying of the metal as an alternative asset, while investors speculating on further gains were cheered by its recovery from Friday's lows.


Spot gold hit a peak of $1,198.70 an ounce and was bid at $1,194.90 an ounce at 1021 GMT, against $1,179.10 late in New York on Monday.


"The fact that we are seeing the dollar weaken is helping to drive gold," said Ole Hansen, senior manager at Saxo Bank.

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Among other precious metals.

Spot silver was bid at $18.70 an ounce against $18.45.


Platinum was at $1,468 an ounce against $1,452.

Palladium was at $378 against $363.50, having earlier touched a high of $379 an ounce, its firmest since August, 2008

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China helps propel copper near 14-month high

LONDON - Copper rose to within a whisker of 14-months highs on Tuesday, boosted by manufacturing data from China, easing fears of contagion from a debt crisis in Dubai and a weaker U.S. dollar.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was trading at $7,015 (U.S.) a tonne at 1044 GMT compared with a session high of $7,041 and Monday's close at $6,930 a tonne.

Last week the metal used in power and construction touched $7,060 a tonne, the highest since September 2008.

Data showed China, the world's largest consumer of industrial metals, is ending the year on a strong note, laying the foundations for solid expansion in 2010.

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Other Metals

Aluminum touched $2,097.50 a tonne, the highest since Aug. 5 on buying related to activity in options, which give buyers the right to buy or sell the three-month contract at a fixed price in the future.

The metal used in transport and packaging was trading at $2,085 a tonne from $2,055 at the close on Monday.

Option expiry is on Wednesday. There are more than 18,400 outstanding contracts to buy - far outweighing those to sell - more than 460,000 tonnes of aluminum at prices between $2,000 and $2,150 a tonne.

Stocks of nickel rose to 140,646 tonnes, the highest since January 1995 and only about 20,000 tonnes below the record high of 151,254 set on November 25, 1994.

Lat week prices of the metal used to make stainless steel fell to $15,571 a tonne, the lowest since late July.


Nickel was trading at $16,425 from $16,400.

Zinc at $2,337 from $2,322.

Lead at $2,390 from $2,345.

Tin at $15,100 from $15,200

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24 Hour Base Metals

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Gold & PGM Prices

Dec 1 2009 12:00PM NY Time dd Change Gold 1198.00 +1.62% Platinum 1479.00 +1.79% Palladium 380.00 +4.40% Rhodium