Gold Hits New High as Tension Mounts in Middle East

Once again, gold serves as a solid refuge for jittery investors. As the United States and its globalist partners prepare to unleash the fury of NATO and the prowess of the U.S. military on Libya and thus begin a new round of tension in the oil-rich Middle East, gold futures closed at a new record high and silver futures advanced to a three-decade high.

Gold for April delivery added $21.30, or 1.5%, to $1,431.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange today, according to MarketWatch. Silver for May delivery gained 61 cents, or 1.8%, to $34.43 an ounce. It represented silver’s highest finish since early 1980, when it traded above $50 an ounce. Silver, the precious metal most used in industry, is attracting a crop of new investors as a lackluster stock market falters.

Gold and silver also gained attention after Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke attempted to downplay inflation fears. Bernanke said the sustained rise in prices for oil and other commodities would threaten the much hyped yet largely unrealized economic recovery, but that even with the turmoil in the Middle East he did not expect inflation problems in the United States, according to the Los Angeles Times. Bernanke is slated to deliver the Fed’s semiannual report to Congress this week.