Gold Strikes New Record

Gold futures were soaring to a record high in New York Tuesday, climbing one point to nearly $880 an ounce as inflation-wary investors rushed to find protection in the metal.

Recently, February-dated gold contracts were at $876.30, up $14.30 on the session.

Stocks were benefitting from the jump, and the Amex Gold Bugs Index was up nearly 6%. All 15 components of the subgroup tracker were in the green.

The best individual names were Gold Fields (GFI Quote - Cramer on GFI - Stock Picks), up 7.7%, Kinross Gold (KGC Quote - Cramer on KGC - Stock Picks), gaining 9.6%, and Iamgold (IAG Quote - Cramer on IAG - Stock Picks), surging 7.2%.

Also climbing were Yamana Gold (AUY Quote - Cramer on AUY - Stock Picks), better by 6.5%, and Barrick Gold (ABX Quote - Cramer on ABX - Stock Picks), advancing 6.1%.

Coeur d'Alene (CDE Quote - Cramer on CDE - Stock Picks) and Newmont (NEM Quote - Cramer on NEM - Stock Picks) were adding 6% or more.

Contributing to the latest rise were a rebound in oil prices and another drop in the U.S. dollar. Crude was up $2.01 at $97.10 a barrel, while the dollar slipped against its major competitors, with the exception of the Japanese yen.

The euro was at $1.4710, up from $1.4692 in the last session, and the pound was increasing to $1.9749 from $1.9695. The Australian dollar was the big winner, gaining 1.5% on the U.S. currency to 88.16 cents from 86.87 cents previously.

Elsewhere among metals, silver was surging 37 cents to $15.66 an ounce. Copper was tacking on 11 cents to $3.25 a pound.