By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
Last update: 9:43 a.m. EST Feb. 11, 2009
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose Wednesday for a second session, climbing near $930 an ounce to the highest level in nearly two weeks as investors continued to buy the metal amid doubts on new economic rescue plans unveiled in the U.S.
Gold for February delivery was last up $11.30, or 1.2%, at $925 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose to $929 earlier, the loftiest intraday level since Jan. 30. Trading more actively, the April contract rose 1.3% to $926 an ounce.
Gold gained more than 2% in the previous session after the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner introduced a new plan to rescue the ailing banking sector. The Senate also passed an $838 billion stimulus package Tuesday by a 61-37 vote.
Markets, however, cast doubts on the plans. Stocks and crude oil prices tumbled, while safe haven buying pushed up gold and Treasury securities, as well as the U.S. dollar.
It's the "flight to safety, pure and simple," said Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers.
Crude oil rebounded Wednesday, recouping part of Tuesday's losses, while U.S. stock futures were flat as unease continued over the lack of details surrounding the Treasury's plan.
If gold breaks the $930 mark, it could rise to as high as $950 an ounce in the short term, said Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist at London-based CMC Markets. Most analysts are projecting gold to rise above $1,000 this year, as safe-haven buying and demand for gold as a hedge against inflation are expected to continue.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, hit a new record high of 894.72 tons as of Tuesday, up 1.5% from a day earlier, according to the latest data from the fund. The total was higher than that reported a month earlier by a margin of nearly 110 tons, or 14%.
Other metals were mixed Tuesday. March copper slid 2.9% to $1.53 a pound, while March silver rose 1% to $13.255 an ounce. March palladium gained 0.5% to $213.15 an ounce, and the April contract for sister metal platinum added 2% to $1,056 an ounce.
Moming Zhou is a MarketWatch reporter based in New York.
