Gold rose toward $1,675 an ounce on Wednesday, hitting its second record in two days, as investors sought refuge from stock market volatility, a slowing economy and an extended period of loose US monetary policy. Bullion rose as the Wall Street hit a low for year after data showed US services sector growth in July unexpectedly slumped to its lowest level since February 2010.
The number of jobs created by the private sector also slowed. The S&P later turned higher, trying to avoid its eighth consecutive losses. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,662.74 an ounce by 2:58 pm EDT, having earlier hit a record at $1,672.65, beating Tuesday's high by about $12.
US gold futures for December delivery settled up $21.80 to $1,666.30 an ounce. Trading volume topped 200,000 lots, in line with the previous session, as investors focused on safe metals amid choppy equity and currency markets. On weekly charts, gold rose toward $1,675 near the top of a rising channel dated to the start of gold's rally in 2008. Some analysts suggested that the metal could pull back near the channel-top resistance level.