Gold Settles Just $3 Off Closing High of $1,258.30

Gold contracts for August settled at $1255.10/ounce today, capping a week of mostly soft economic news, and closing in on yet another record high. Both existing and new home sales came in below expectations, GDP for Q1 was revised lower and the Fed held interest rates pat. One bright spot came on Thursday, when initial jobless claims dropped to 457K, from 476K for April.

Notably, the VIX volatility index rose over the heavily-watched 30 level this week, marking the first time since June 11 that the indicator moved over the level which suggests "bearish" market sentiment.

Gold prices closed at a record high of $1258.30/ounce on June 18, 2010, though it has hit intraday highs above that level since.

ETF's benefitting from gold prices include:

• SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) up 1.20%;
  
• Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) up 3.85%;
  
• Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ) up 3.67%; and
  
• iShares COMEX Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU) up 1.19%.

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