The gold price soared past the $1,500 an ounce benchmark on
April 19, a new record in a year already filled with them.

At press time on April 20, gold was trading at $1,503 an
ounce, after briefly hitting $1,505. The metal’s price is up over 7 percent
since the beginning of the year.

Analysts said the continued rise was partly spurred by
concerns over rising inflation in many parts of the world, increasing oil
prices, and Standard & Poor’s pessimistic assessment of America’s credit
rising.  

Gold first crossed
the $1,400 an ounce benchmark on November 8. It first
broke the $1,000 barrier in March 2008.

The silver price also hit a 30-year peak of $44.93 an ounce on
April 20. At press time it was trading at $44.91.

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