March 13, 2008 at 12:00 pm by Tom Lydon
Gold-related exchange traded funds (ETFs) were higher in intraday trading as gold futures seemed to be trying out for high jumping in the Olympics.
April futures reached a record $1,001.50 an ounce, continuing its steady climb that’s been going on since 2001, reports Allen Sykora for the Wall Street Journal.
The rising price of gold is only accelerated by the falling value of the dollar and the rising cost of oil, which hit a record $111 a barrel today. Oil ETFs such as the Oil Services HOLDRs (OIH) and United States Oil (USO) so far haven’t shown much movement in trading.
streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD), iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU) and Market Vectors Miners (GDX) are all benefiting from the Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not prices:
Meanwhile, the dollar hit new lows against the yen, says Yuka Hayashi for the Wall Street Journal. For the first time in 12 years, it dropped below 100 yen, threatening Japan’s exporters and increasing the chances that the world’s number two economy would slow. It also hit new lows against the euro, at $1.56.
The dollar vs. the yen:
CurrencyShares Euro Trust (FXE) and CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY) were up slightly in intraday trading.
Read the disclosure, as Tom Lydon is a board member of Rydex Funds.
