The price of gold just can’t be stopped these days. Future prices of the precious metal topped $1,100 today, giving related exchange traded funds (ETFs) a push higher, as well.

Investors were driven into gold’s safe arms by a disappointing unemployment report that was the country’s worst in 26 years. (The unemployment report).

Allen Sykora for The Wall Street Journal reports that December gold peaked at $1,101.90 an ounce, a fresh record for a most-active contract on Comex. December gold eventually settled at $1,097.70 an ounce, while silver was up 11 cents to $17.52. (Can gold ETFs and prices go higher?)

Who’s going to drive gold prices? Although gold is typically driven by economic factors, these days  investors and traders are in the driver’s seat. Many analysts expect the uptrend to stick around for the time being. Eric Lam for Financial Post reports that the seasonal impact that drives gold is also a factor, as September to December has guided gold higher over the past decade. (Gold’s use as an inflation hedge).

Before investing in gold or other commodities, be sure you have a stop loss in place that you can execute when the trend winds down. (How to employ a stop loss).

For more stories about gold, visit our gold category.

• SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD): up 23.7% year-to-date

• PowerShares DB Gold (NYSEArca: DGL): up 21.9% year-to-date

• iShares COMEX Gold (NYSEArca: IAU): up 23.5% year-to-date

• ETFS Physical Swiss Gold (NYSEArca: SGOL): up 7.3% since inception

Tags: Commodity ETFs, DGL, GLD, Gold, IAU, Precious Metals, SGOL