Neil Dennis
FT.com
April 25, 2011
Gold hit a record high, while silver surged more than 5 per cent to within a whisker of its all-time peak, as the dollar continued its decline and inflation concerns drove haven flows.
Driven also by government debt concerns, gold rose 1 per cent to $1,518.20 a troy ounce, the seventh-consecutive trading session in which it has hit a record high. Silver surged 5.5 per cent to $49.17 an ounce, having hit a 30-year high of $49.80, within sight of the landmark $50 level.
The market considers that $50 an ounce marks a record nominal high for silver, although veteran traders say that in the chaotic trading of January 18, 1980, when the Hunt brothers’ cornering of the market came to a head, some small amounts of the metal changed hands in the physical market at even higher prices. The large precious metals banks, which have been meeting daily to set prices for silver since 1897, on that day recorded a “fixing” – or daily benchmark price – of $49.45.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!