Gold hits record $1,045 on report of dollar's demise

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold finished at a new record closing level on Tuesday, after earlier hitting a record intraday high of $1,045 an ounce, as the dollar slumped on a report suggesting the end of dollar-based oil trading and as Australia hiked interest rates.

A report in the U.K.'s Independent newspaper said that Gulf-area oil producers, along with China, Russia, Japan and France, are planning to eventually end dollar-based oil pricing.
Gold hits record high

Gold rallied to a new high Tuesday on concerns about the weakness of the U.S. dollar. Brian Hicks, portfolio manager with U.S. Global Investors, says he's raising his target on the metal. MarketWatch's Stacey Delo reports.

With the greenback under selling pressure, investors moved into dollar-denominated commodities such as gold.

Gold for December delivery gained $21.90, or 2.2%, to end at $1,039.70 an ounce, a new record closing level. It earlier reached a high of $1,045.0 an ounce, topping the previous record of $1,033.90 in March 2008.

Gold's new high is "very significant," says Brien Lundin, editor of the Gold Newsletter, published by Jefferson Financial. "Reaching $1,100 by the end of the year is now a conservative estimate."