NEW YORK, Oct 31, 2007 (AFP) – The price of gold passed 800 dollars an ounce on Wednesday for the first time since 1980 after the US Federal Reserve lowered its key short-term interest rate, the New York Mercantile Exchange said.
Gold futures for December touched 800.80 dollars on the exchange (NYMEX) after the Fed made the cut amid a persisent housing slump and fears of inflation spurred by record high crude oil prices. The Fed, in a widely expected decision, cut its short-term federal funds interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.50 percent.