Gold surges to record, US dollar drops

Gold surged to a record, extending its rally, as the dollar's drop spurred demand from investors for wealth protection. Silver advanced to a 30-month peak and platinum to the highest level since May.

Gold for immediate delivery advanced 0.4 percent to an all- time high of $1,280.80 an ounce and traded at $1,280.75 an ounce at 3:01 p.m. in Singapore. Futures for December delivery climbed to a record $1,282.30 an ounce. Cash silver reached a high of $20.9587 an ounce and platinum $1,620.75. Should silver exceed $21.355, it will reach the highest in about 30 years, Bloomberg informs.

The gold/silver ratio, used to measure the ounces of silver needed to buy an ounce of gold, has been on a steady decline since late August. It stood at a nearly 8-month low of 61.27, way below the average of 64.38 over the past 28 years.

Spot platinum hit an intraday high of $1,617.5, within sight of a near 4-month peak of $1,618 hit in the previous session. Platinum is on course for a weekly gain of 5 percent, the sharpest in 8 months, Reuters says.