New York gold futures gained 2.8% as inflation talk picked up steam after the Fed and world central banks cut interest rates in an emergency announcement on Wednesday in an attempt to ease the credit crunch. Silver moved higher while oil and platinum fell.
Investors find gold more attractive as inflationary pressures on the dollar rise. While those pressures have recently cooled somewhat, the cut in interest rates could change inflation to a more menacing picture in the coming months.
"Coordinated central bank aggressive interest rate cuts should lead to gold surging in value in the coming months" as "currency devaluations look increasingly likely," said Mark O’Byrne, executive director at Gold and Silver Investments.
In a breakdown of Wednesday’s oil and precious metal numbers…
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The United States Mint on Wednesday introduced newly designed 2009 Presidential $1 coins and released detailed artist images of the dollars. The American public will see 2009 circulating coins honoring Presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor. Most interestingly, different design elements have been implemented compared to the initial series of 2007 and 2008 coins.
Notable in the new designs is the placement of "In God We Trust," which in past years has been on the edge of each Presidential dollar. A public outcry occurred when the U.S. Mint inadvertently issued a small subset of 2007 dollars that did not have the inscription because of minting errors. Also, while many thought edge letterings on coins would be a fresh approach, fewer liked "In God We Trust" there after seeing the new dollars. They felt the inscription lacked prominence, and needed to be moved.
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