New York (Platts)--27Feb2008

Gold prices have soared to new heights on the COMEX Wednesday morning
while silver prices hit 28-year high on the back of record-level crude oil
prices and a record low US dollar. Investors continue to seek refuge in gold.

The dollar sank to a new low of $1.5084/euro and triggered a run on gold,
according to trade sources. The dollar is also much weaker against the
Japanese yen -- trading at Yen 106.225 Tuesday morning.

The nearby April gold contract traded at a record intra-day high of
$964/oz before declining to $959/oz at 10:32 am EST -- up $10.10 from
Tuesday's settlement price. Gold easily rallied above its previous high on a
spurt of buying interest, trade sources have told Platts.

Not to be undone, silver prices rose to their highest levels since 1980,
with the nearby March contract hitting $19.07/oz for a gain of 35 cents over
Tuesday's settlement price. The May silver contract rose 39.9 cents to
$19.24/oz when it last traded at 10:29 am.

In the oil patch, the April contract on the NYMEX hit a record
$101.15/barrel before pulling back to $100.80/barrel at 10:37 am.

--Ovid Abrams; ovid_abrams@platts.com