New York (Platts)--11Jul2008

The gold market is on a roll once again, with the dollar plunging to
near-record low against the euro and crude oil soaring to record highs.
Traders are now setting their sights on the $1,000/oz mark once again -- even
though this was supposed to be a quiet summer period for the dollar, with the
rally returning in the fall.

On the COMEX< the nearby August gold contract bounced $23 off Thursday's
close to reach $965/oz at 10:12 am EDT (1412 GMT). Trading has been relatively
quiet, with a major part of the move occurring in Europe. Spot gold soared to
a PM fix of $962.75/oz in London Friday.

"Gold is reacting to crude oil, which jumped by more than $3 yesterday
afternoon and is up again this morning," said trader. "Everybody seems to be
going back to gold because of the dollar and crude oil."

Basis the nearby August contract on the NYMEX, light crude has risen
$4.75 to a record intra-day high of $146.40/barrel. The dollar slumped to its
weakest level in more than three months, trading at $1.5917/euro -- a near
record low. Against the pound sterling, the US currency has sunk to $1.9917;
this makes gold look more attractive to Europeans.
--Ovid Abrams; ovid_abrams@platts.com