Gold Pushes Higher Still

Updated from 3:03 p.m. EDT

Gold touched another 25-year high near $680 an ounce on Wednesday, before pulling back along with the price of crude oil after bearish U.S. inventories data.

Still, after trading lower in morning trade, gold for June delivery finished up $1.10 at $668.50, after earlier touching yet another quarter-century high at $679.80.

"The higher gold is going to get, the more some people are getting nervous," says Amaury Conti, equity trader at San Antonio-based investment adviser Austin Calvert & Flavin. "But there is still momentum in gold, and many are using a pull-back to get back into the market."

Among other metals, silver for July delivery dropped 41 cents to $13.79 an ounce. But July copper also reversed early weakness to finish up 2.85 cents at $3.30 a pound, interrupting the downward path seen over the past few sessions.

According to Charles Nedoss, metals analyst at the Peak Trading Group, copper was hit the most by news last week that China had unexpectedly lifted interest rates for the first time since October 2004.

The move, aimed at cooling the fastest-growing economy in the world, raised concerns that slowing global growth would cap demand for commodities, such as copper.

But "I think this was just an excuse to take profit," says Nedoss. "If [China] goes from 10% growth to 9% growth, so what? We're fast approaching the key $3.20 level [on the July contract], which will be good time to jump back in."

Overnight, Australia's central bank raised its benchmark rate a quarter percentage point to 5.75%, its first rate increase in 14 months, according to Bloomberg. The hike added to the weakness in copper but gold and silver remained supported through the opening of the New York session, according to Nell Sloane, metals analyst at NSFutures.com.