Gold futures rallied Thursday, tacking on as much as 2% to top $740 an ounce in New York as the dollar's fall to a new all-time low against the euro helped lift the precious metal's prices to levels not seen since 1980.

Gold soared to a series of fresh highs today after the dollar's sombre tone gave the metal an initial push this morning. Expectations the US currency will remain weak, possible safe haven bids

A prediction of $3400 dollar gold within three years should not be discarded as impossible, although hopefully unlikely.

The half percent drop in US interest rates was larger than some predicted and

Gold futures rallied past $730 an ounce in electronic trading Tuesday afternoon to touch a fresh 16-month high following the Federal Reserve's decision to cut the benchmark federal funds rate for the first time in more than four years.

Nowhere has the jump in demand been more noticeable than in the exchange-traded funds that hold inventories of bullion.

Selling Gold during this ten-year period was not wise. Gold's superior performance was due to structural nature of U.S. dollar's problems. For that reason, no sell signal has been issued by this or other enlightened writers during this ten year period.

Since 2002, the average US dollar savings account has yielded less than 1%

Gold futures rallied Thursday to close near $705 an ounce, lifting the benchmark contract to a four-month high on the heels of strong physical demand for the metal overseas, safe-haven buying and a weaker U.S. dollar as traders worried about the influence of high oil prices on the economy.

Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp., , fell more than 15% ahead of Friday's open, retreating after the largest U.S. home lender said problems in the U.S. mortgage market poses a serious threat to its earnings and financial condition.

Precious metals have been one of the top performing asset classes over the past six years, and investors wanting to add a precious metals component to their portfolios are often overwhelmed by the number of investment vehicles available to them today.

Although silver is relatively scarce, it is the most plentiful and least expensive of the precious metals.

This level has proven several times in the past to provide well-needed support whenever the dollar has reached that line

It was close. It was very close. The US Dollar Index went as low as 80.02, so very close to breaking down through though critical support at 80.

There are a lot of factors undermining the attractiveness of the U.S. dollar as a currency holding, not the least of which is its stubborn inclination to lose value over time.

U.S. gold futures eased early on Friday after sharp losses from the previous sessions, as jittery investors take cues from other financial markets, which were hit by the latest wave of risk aversion.

It's easy to get caught up in the volatility and wild swings in the market if you don't have a strategy and plan for the big picture.

Gold tends to trade opposite to the dollar and with the Fed done raising interest rates the dollar is about to resume its long-term decline

A fiat dollar is merely a claim on resources, and it is a liability of the Fed (while its government bond holdings are its assets). Gold is gold. It is not anyone else's liability.

Gold demand in India has risen by 72% to account for half of world mining output...