Gold futures rallied and silver hit its highest point in nearly 31 years Friday as jitters about rising oil prices amid Middle East tensions boosted the metals as refuge investments.
The most actively traded gold contract, for April delivery, was recently up $12.60, or 0.9%, at $1,429 U.S. a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nearby March gold was also up 0.9%, at $1,428.20 U.S., while March silver hit $35.300 U.S. an ounce, its highest intraday price since March 6, 1980.
U.S. stocks moved lower Friday as investors fretted about $104 U.S. oil and a mixed U.S. government jobs report, which said the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to below 9% in February but payrolls rose by less than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down 0.6%.
Meanwhile, investors continued to worry about the potential impact of rising energy prices. They were buying gold and silver as hedges against the potential economic drag of $104 U.S. a barrel oil, as well as a safe haven as Libya's capital braced for violence from antigovernment protests after Muslim prayers Friday.
Reports that a truce could be brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez caused oil prices to ease Thursday, but the prospect for such a truce appeared increasingly remote after opposition forces flatly rejected mediation.
