Gold Futures Hit New Record but Close Lower

Gold futures settled lower Tuesday after earlier rallying to yet another new all-time record high.

COMEX gold futures, per the December contract, climbed to an intra-day high of $1,923.70 per ounce at approximately 2:30am ET.  The yellow metal subsequently went on quite a roller coaster ride, tumbling toward $1,860 near 4am ET after the Swiss National Bank announced its intention to peg the Swiss Franc to the euro currency.

Gold futures later rebounded back above $1,900 per ounce and held there until approximately 11am ET, when they then retreated toward $1,870 per ounce.

COMEX gold for December 2011 delivery finished lower by $3.60, or 0.2%, at $1,873.30 per ounce, and remained near that level in electronic trading later this afternoon.

Silver futures slid alongside the yellow metal, with the COMEX December contract down by $1.22, or 2.9%, at $41.84 per ounce this afternoon.  December had traded as high as $43.32 per ounce at approximately 2am ET today.

The currency markets also experienced significant volatility, as the euro climbed from 1.4080 toward 1.43 against the U.S. dollar following the SNB’s announcement.  However, the euro subsequently relinquished its entire gain against the greenback and was lower by 1.2% near 1.4010 this afternoon.