Capital Gold Group Report: PRECIOUS METALS BULL MARKET

The new record high of $958.40 surpassed the previous high hit earlier in the session.

Gold for April delivery was last trading up $15.90 at $953.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

April platinum futures also hit a record Thursday, climbing as high as $2,194.80 an ounce. Platinum was last up $19.20 at $2,158 an ounce.

"Gold has surged on increasing inflation concerns with yesterday's stronger-than-expected and sharply higher U.S. CPI report," said Mark O'Byrne, executive director at Gold & Silver Investments Ltd., in a note.

"With the commodities complex continuing to surge and oil staying above $100 a barrel, inflation will continue to increase significantly in the U.S. and internationally," he said.

Gold, typically regarded as an inflation hedge, gained Wednesday after the Labor Department reported that U.S. consumer prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in January. Inflation was stoked by large increases in energy and food prices but also showed increases in a host of underlying core prices. 

Gold also received a boost from weakness in the U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.5% to 75.73.

The greenback was pressured by worse-than-expected manufacturing in the Philadelphia region as reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. 

Adding to bad economic news, the Conference Board said Thursday that the index of leading U.S. economic indicators dipped by 0.1% in January, as weaker stock prices and housing data drove the gauge to a fourth consecutive monthly decline.

Crude-oil futures dropped Thursday, after rallying to a new record high in the previous session, as government data showed U.S. crude inventories rose more than expected in the latest week. 

Platinum futures soared to a new record high of $2,194.80 an ounce Thursday, surpassing their previous record of $2,174 set on Tuesday. The platinum rally has been propelled by concerns about declining output from South Africa, the world's biggest platinum producer.

South Africa has been saddled with severe power shortages since mid-January, forcing many major mining companies to operate below capacity and revise their production forecasts accordingly.

Wednesday's correction in platinum "reflects the metal's high volatility and extremely overbought conditions," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a note.

"However, the dip again served as a bargain-hunting opportunity, as ongoing supply woes in South Africa look set to see the metal move into a much deeper deficit this year and could potentially see price extend to $3,000 an ounce," Moore said.

Also on Nymex, March palladium rallied $18.30 at $512.50 an ounce.

March silver rose 24 cents to $18.0 an ounce and March copper surged 11 cents, or 3%, at $3.82 a pound.


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