Gold Futures Top $900 an Ounce For the First Time

Gold futures briefly rose above $900 an ounce for the first time as high oil prices, a weak dollar and fears of a U.S. recession led uneasy investors to keep buying the precious metal. An ounce of gold for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped $6.50 to $900.10 in morning trading. This was an all time high and a psychologically important milestone. Gold later slipped to $898.70 an ounce on profit-taking but remained in record territory. Still, when adjusted for inflation, gold remains well below its all time high. An ounce of gold at $875 in l980 would be worth $2,115 to $2,200 today.