Finotec

There's a real opportunity for gold to push past the record on ongoing economic uncertainty and dollar weakness

Gold traded close to its record as a drop in the dollar against the euro, and speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further, boosted the appeal of bullion as an alternative investment.

The dollar has fallen almost 1 percent against the euro this week. European Central Bank officials signaled interest rates would remain steady to cap inflation. The Federal Reserve Jan. 22 slashed the benchmark U.S. rate by 0.75 percentage point in an emergency move. The dollar traded at $1.4770 per euro from $1.4755 late yesterday in New York.

``There's a real opportunity for gold to push past the record on ongoing economic uncertainty and dollar weakness,'' Gerard Burg, energy and minerals economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. Gold, which surged 31 percent in 2007, has gained 9 percent since the start of this year as investors bought the metal on concern U.S. interest rate cuts may not prevent the world's biggest economy from slipping into recession. The Gold future contract is trading around the levels of 914.00$ per ounce.