Gold Climbs Up On Demand for Inflation Hedge

Gold rose, capping the third straight weekly gain, as surging energy costs boosted demand for a hedge against inflation.

Crude-oil futures are up for a third week, reaching a record $135.09 a barrel yesterday. Gold has gained 40 percent in the past 12 months as oil doubled. The metal reached a record $1,033.90 an ounce on March 17.

Gold futures for June delivery rose $7.50, or 0.8 percent, to $925.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal gained 2.9 percent this week after climbing 4.9 percent in the previous two weeks.

A weaker dollar has helped spark a surge in commodities, including oil and gold, analysts said. The UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index of 26 raw materials has jumped 23 percent this year, reaching a record 1,595.16 yesterday. The dollar has dropped 6.3 percent in 2008 against a weighted basket of the euro, yen, pound and three other major currencies.

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate seven times in as many months as a housing slump and the credit crisis threatened to push the economy into a recession. The federal- funds rate is at 2 percent, down from 5.25 percent in mid- September.

The supply of unsold properties in the U.S. reached a record in April, the National Association of Realtors said today.