Gold Hits 18-Month High, Silver Surges, Stocks on Fire

Wednesday was Tuesday repeated, but better. A tumbling US dollar pushed commodities higher with gold touching an 18-month high, silver soaring toward $17.50 an ounce to finish near a 13-month high and crude rallying above $72.50 a barrel. US stocks continued their momentum, rising for a third straight day and closing at fresh 2009 highs.

New York precious metals figures follow:

• Silver for December delivery soared 43 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $17.43 an ounce. It reached as high as $17.58, the best level since Aug. 4, 2008.

• Gold for December delivery climbed $13.90, or 1.4 percent, to $1020.20 an ounce. The yellow metal earlier reached $1,023.30, the highest price since March 17, 2008.

• October platinum advanced $29.80, or 2.3 percent, to $1,350.10 an ounce.

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