国际英语新闻：Gold soars to new record, tops 1,370 dollars

CHICAGO, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange reached new highs on Wednesday, lifted by a weaker U.S. Dollar and rising inflationary expectations, as investors flocked to the precious metal to hedge the weakening greenback and inflation. Silver and platinum both surged.

The most active gold contract for December delivery surged 23.8 dollars, or 1.8 percent, to finish at 1,370.5 dollars per ounce. Earlier, the price reached an all-time high of 1,375.7 dollars per ounce, easily surpassing its previous record of 1,366 dollars.

Although the bullion came under pressure on Tuesday as profit- taking emerged after successive days of gains, it found support and bounced off lows after the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting emphasized their concerns that an already faltering economy could lose further momentum, indicating that the Fed is set to pump more money into the system.

Gold accelerated gains as the U.S. dollar index slid 0.38 percent to 77.07 on Wednesday, making dollar-priced gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.

A trader noted that the bullion's strong rally also triggered stop loss buying and attracted investors who dumped gold at record prices to jump back in the market.

December silver surged 78.5 cents, or 3.4 percent, to 23.932 dollars. January platinum climbed 24.1 dollars, or 1.4 percent, to 1,707.4 dollars per ounce.