Gold futures hit a new record high and oil prices continued to climb in Tuesday's trading.
The price of gold for February delivery rose more than $18 to go as high as $884 per ounce in New York. Gold for immediate delivery also rose.
Traders attribute the rising price of gold to the falling dollar, geopolitical tensions, and the rising price of oil.
Crude oil for future delivery gained more than two dollars in Tuesday's trading to go as high as $97.10 a barrel in New York. It eased back to $96.33 by the close of trading.
Oil's latest rise is blamed on speculation that a government report Wednesday will show a continuing decline in energy supplies in the United States.
U.S. stock market indexes were down in Tuesday's trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost two percent (239 points) to end at 12,588. The S & P 500 dropped more than 1.8 percent (26 points) to close at 1,390 and the NASDAQ lost more than two percent (59 points) to hit 2,441 at the end of the day.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
