Bolstered by concerns of rising soverign debt in Europe and the United States, gold reached a six-week high as investors increasingly view the metal as an alternative to currencies. “Gold is going to become the currency of choice as people lose faith in fiat currencies,”
Gold futures for April delivery rose $5.90, or 0.5 percent, to $1,143.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the most-active contract touched $1,145.80, the highest price since Jan. 15.
“There are hopes that the Greek deficit cuts will stem the tide of the declining euro,” GoldCore Ltd., a broker in Dublin, said in a report. “Concerns that the austerity measures being taken in Greece may soon have to be undertaken in other European economies and in the U.K. should lead to continuing safe-haven demand for gold.”
Gold has climbed 4.3 percent this year, while the euro is down 4.2 percent against the dollar. The metal jumped 24 percent in 2009 as record-low U.S. interest rates and government spending weighed on the dollar and countries including India and China boosted bullion reserves.
