Spot gold surges to $1,760 after Fed announcement

Aug. 9, 2011 11:42 AM PT

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Spot gold surged to $1,759.90 Tuesday after the Federal Reserve said economic growth is “considerably slower.”

The precious metal has reached several highs in recent days, closing at record levels twice last week and at a new high of $1,710.20 an ounce Monday. Standard & Poor’s historic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating Friday only fueled the rush into the safe-haven commodity as fears of a double-dip recession intensified.

Gold has been trending upward for nearly 11 years. A year ago, the metal cost $1,200 an ounce.

Earlier Tuesday, the price soared to $1,779 before slumping to $1,720 in the hours before the Fed announcement.

AA+ U.S. Treasury sees strong demand at debt sale

-- Tiffany Hsu

Money & Company

Tiffany Hsu

Tiffany Hsu is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she wrote about the California economy, fast food, restaurants, retail and alternative energy for the Business section. A Bay Area native, UC Berkeley graduate and eternal Nor-Cal fan, she once worked for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. She also did a stint at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where she developed a passion for sweet tea. She still has faith that someday she’ll find two economists who agree.

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