Gold Futures Surge to Record as Investors Seek Haven After U.S. Rating Cut

August 8 (Bloomberg) -- Gold futures surged to a record $1,697.70 an ounce on demand for an investment haven as the dollar slumped following Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the U.S. long-term credit rating from AAA.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $36, or 2.2 percent, to $1,687.80 an ounce at 7:40 a.m. Tokyo time in electronic trading on the Comex in New York after reaching the all-time high.

“Gold will most likely be a sharp recipient of safe- haven flows” following the U.S. rating cut, Edel Tully, a London- based analyst at UBS AG, said in a report. “Our previous one- month forecast of $1,725 is likely to be easily met in the short term.”‬

U.S. stock futures and crude oil plunged today. Last week, investors dumped equities and most raw materials for the perceived safety of Treasuries, the Swiss franc and gold amid escalating debt concerns in the U.S. and Europe. Before today, the metal climbed 16 percent this year.

“Most likely there will be a quest for physical gold, from both U.S. and European investors,” Tully said in the report “The fear trade, as seen through the purchase of small bars and coins, will intensify as confidence diminishes, not just in the U.S., but fear of contagion to other AAA nations will prompt additional physical buying in European.”