Investors rushed to buy US silver futures, driving the
front-month contract above $30 an ounce for the first time since 1980.
US stocks dipped as investors took profits while oil eased
after reaching a two-year high near $90 a barrel and gold prices also
approached their own record high.
At midday in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average
inched down 5.79 points, or 0.05 percent, to 11,376.30. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index shed 1.49 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,223.22. The Nasdaq
Composite Index dipped 0.91 of a point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,590.55.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of European shares,
added 0.13 percent to end at 1,105.41 as the shares of of major oil companies
got a lift from strong crude prices, more than offsetting nerves over the
outcome of the euro-zone finance ministers' meeting.
US crude oil futures slipped 30 cents, or 0.34 percent, to
$88.89 per barrel, after trading as high as $89.76, the highest since October
2008, as a cold spell in Europe and in parts of the United States spurred
greater heating demand.
The MSCI world equity index shed 0.17 percent to 321.58.
Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.11 percent to end at 10,167.23 on profit-taking after
it hit a six-month high last week.
The euro slipped 0.95 percent to $1.3286, its first decline
in four sessions.
The dollar gained against a basket of currencies, with the
US Dollar Index up 0.43 percent at 79.716. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar
was up just 0.08 percent at 82.69 from a previous session close of 82.620.
Meanwhile, U.S. silver futures climbed above $30 an ounce,
gaining more than 2 percent as gold's rally and strong demand from momentum
traders and retail investors lifted the metal to its highest level since 1980.
Spot gold prices rose as high ast $1,420.31 an ounce before
easing to $1,413.40 an ounce later in the day. It touched a record $1,424.10
early in November.
