Courtesy of Financial Times :

Jan. 9 - Gold and platinum continued their record breaking start to 2008, helped by weakness in equity markets and fears over the global economic outlook.

Gold pushed past the $890 level to reach a new record of $891.40, up 1.5 per cent from New York’s late quote of 878.10 on Tuesday, boosted by US trading helped by new investor inflows at the start of the year, rising oil prices and concerns over weakness in the dollar.

The advance for gold prices towed other precious metals higher with platinum reaching $1,560 a troy ounce, a record.

Oil prices rose ahead of the latest US inventories data which was expected to show a fall in crude stocks for an eighth consecutive week.

Nymex February West Texas Intermediate advanced 82 cents to $97.15 a barrel while ICE February Brent added 58 cents at $96.12 a barrel.

Following weather disruptions to exports from Mexico, US crude stocks were expected to have fallen by 1.3m barrels last week, according to a poll of analysts by Reuters.

Crude prices also found support from fresh threats by militants to oil facilities in Nigeria, the world’s eighth largest oil exporter.

Distlaiite stocks (including heating oil) were exected to have risen 0.4m barrels. Heating oil stocks stand 36.1 per cent below last year’s level and prices have been trading close to record levels recently.

Nymex February heating oil rose 1.5 cents to $2.6562 a gallon after reaching a record $2.7475 last week.

Nymex February RBOB gasoline traded just under one cent firmer at $2.4829 a gallon with US gasoline inventories expected to have risen 1.7m barrels.