Gold and Platinum Fall, Silver Gains

New York gold and platinum futures fell 0.6 percent and 2.3 percent respectively on Wednesday. That, despite surging oil prices and a mostly unchanged U.S. dollar. Silver shined, rising 2.3 percent.

March crude-oil rallied $2.71, or 6.6 percent, to close to $43.55 a barrel. The average price for regular unleaded gasoline increased a half cent to $1.848 a gallon, according to AAA.

March silver gained 14.5 cents to close at $11.32 an ounce.

April platinum declined $21.70 to $927.60 an ounce.

Gold for February lost $5.10 to settle at $850.10 an ounce.

"Essentially, a long gold view now is a view that inflation will be higher than what central banks are suggesting they are willing to accept," Morgan Stanley analysts who forecast $900 an ounce gold in 2009 said in a research report quoted on MarketWatch.

"A globally synchronous and aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus may be needed to re-inflate the global economy, and we think this continues to present significant upside to gold prices."

Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.

Check out CoinNews market resources at Live Gold Spots, the Silver Coin Calculator, U.S. Mint Collector Bullion Coin Prices, and the Inflation Calculator.