gold futures closes at a record high

Gold futures closes at a record high!!!!.... and KRM and OCG have oodles of the stuff!! BUY imo.

By Claudia Assis and Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) ? Gold futures closed at a record high and silver futures advanced to a fresh three-decade high on Tuesday as simmering tensions in the Middle East and North Africa, along with fears of inflation, drew investors to the metals.

Gold for April added $21.30, or 1.5%, to $1,431.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold?s gains picked up after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the increase in inflation from rising commodities prices will be modest and temporary. Read more about Bernanke?s speech.

Adam Klopfenstein, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago, said inflation-based gold trades are being made based on popular perceptions, given higher energy and food prices.

At the end of the day it?s what consumer thinks, so there is inflation,? Klopfenstein said. ?The overall push is coming from jitters in the Middle East, with gold moving on a flight to safety and on an inflationary theme.?
Silver for May delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained 61 cents, or 1.8%, to $34.43 an ounce. That was silver?s highest finish since early 1980, when it traded above $50 an ounce.

Pressure on embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi intensified Tuesday, with international governments including the U.S. imposing sanctions and calling for him to step down immediately.

Despite the global condemnation, regime loyalists mounted attacks on two opposition-held cities in Libya and regained control of a key oil town, according to reports.

?The tensions in the Middle East will likely ensure that energy prices remain firm for little while longer, and so we would be cautious about jumping back into the metals at this early stage,? analysts at MF Global said.

Most other metals tracked gold and silver higher, with copper shedding early weakness to end on the black.

Platinum for April delivery gained $35.90, or 2%, to $1,845.10 an ounce. Sister metal palladium for March delivery advanced $16.70, or 2.1%, to $814.35 an ounce.

U.S. and foreign auto makers across the board reported higher sales for February on Tuesday, impacting platinum and palladium markets. The metals are used in auto catalytic converters and prices often rise and fall alongside automotive news.

March copper , however, rose 1 cent, or 0.3%, to $4.49 a pound.

?The picture offers no reason for us to not believe that Chinese growth will continue to remain at a level accommodative to healthy demand growth for base metals,? the MF Global analysts said.

?Short-term sentiment and price direction will continue to be dominated by ongoing geopolitical tension in the Middle East and North Africa, although robust medium-term fundamental expectations have so far limited the potential downside moves,? they said.

Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch. Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney