Gold Boosted By High Oil Prices And Weak Greenback

For the fifth day gold inches up to an extremely high level as crude oil holds close to a record, stoking inflationary expectations.

Crude oil futures rose for a third session yesterday to reach a record $129.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar fell against the euro, touching $1.5686, the weakest since April 28.

Bullion for immediate delivery rose to as high as $923.74 an ounce yesterday and was up 0.2 percent at $921.50 an ounce at 9:45 a.m. in Singapore. Silver fell 0.2 percent to $17.6275 an ounce at the same time.

Crude oil traded at $129.06 at 9:43 a.m. in Singapore after the billionaire hedge-fund manager Boone Pickens said prices will reach $150 a barrel this year. The dollar fell for the second day to $1.5675 against the euro at 9:39 a.m. in Singapore.

Gold will probably rise as institutional investors increase their holdings of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation, World Gold Council Chief Executive Officer James Burton said yesterday at a conference in Lima.

Gold for June delivery was little changed at $920.50 an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on Comex at 9:40 a.m. Singapore time. Gold for April 2009 delivery gained 29 yen, or 1 percent, to 3,081 yen a gram ($927 an ounce) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at the same time.