By Claudia Assis and Laura Mandaro, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose Tuesday, getting a lift from mounting worries over a spreading debt crisis in Europe and news Chinese authorities approved a fund to invest in gold overseas.
Gold for February delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f:gc\z10 (GCZ10 1,387, +20.50, +1.50%) , the most active contract,�jumped $18.10, or 1.3%, to $1,385.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A close around these levels would be the highest for a most-active gold contract since Nov. 11, when gold closed at $1,403.30 an ounce.
Gold is on track to gain 2.1% in November. The metal hit four consecutive record highs this month, culminating with a record $1,410.10 an ounce on Nov. 9.
Silver and copper also rallied as trading focused on events in Europe and in China.
News Hub: Spain, Italy Debt Worries Pound the Euro
Paul Vigna discusses how worries about Spanish and Italian bonds are hammering the Euro and have caused shares in Europe to fall sharply.
Gold benefited from the safe-haven trade, rising to a record in euros, according to analysts, and shouldering a rise in the U.S. dollar.
The euro tumbled and Spanish government bond yields soared as investors bet the European Union would have to bail out another member -- or make some changes to the way it manages deficits. Read more on Spanish yields.
China?s securities regulator has given the green light to a mutual fund to invest in foreign exchange-traded funds backed by gold. Read more on gold funds.
?Even if just a small fraction of people in China (invest in the new fund) this adds another level of demand ... the implications are really big,? said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago.
Lion Fund Management Co. did not specify which ETFs, or which markets, it was considering.
The world?s largest gold-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Trust /quotes/comstock/13*!gld/quotes/nls/gld (GLD 135.49, +1.98, +1.49%) �, reported inflows of $185.4 million in the week ended Nov. 26, after five weeks of outflows.
?This is a further step in the liberalization of the Chinese gold market, making it easier for domestic investors to invest in gold. The higher demand as a result should generally support gold prices,? analysts at Commerzbank said in a report to clients Tuesday.
The U.S. dollar traded at $1.30 per euro /quotes/comstock/21o!x:seurusd (EURUSD 1.3036, -0.0086, -0.6554%) �, down from $1.3121 in late North American trade Monday. Earlier it fell below $1.30 for the first time since mid-September.
The gold rally is being fostered by ?nervous and anxious holders of euro currencies and Far East buyers nervous about Korean problems,? wrote George Gero, a precious metals strategist for RBC Capital Markets.
The price in euros rose to a record ?1,052 per ounce, said Commerzbank.
U.S. stocks traded lower, as Europe debt concerns spilled into the U.S. markets, but had trimmed their losses on positive macroeconomic data. Read more about stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 11,019, -33.15, -0.30%) � recently traded off 51 points, paring its decline after the Conference Board reported its consumer confidence index rose to 54.1 in November from a downwardly revised 49.9 in October.
Separately, the Chicago purchasing managers index rose more than expected, to 62.5 in November from 60.6 in October.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f1:si\f11 (SIF11 2,811, +95.20, +3.51%) �added 64 cents, or 2.3%, to $27.82 an ounce. Silver was on track to a whopping 13% gain in November.
That would follow similar gains in October and a 12% advance in September, and set the metal for its fourth consecutive monthly gain.
Silver has hit a string of 30-year highs, peaking at $28.91 on Nov. 9.
Copper for March delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f:hg\f11 (HGF11 383.20, +6.90, +1.83%) �rose 6 cents, or 1.6%, to $3.83 a pound, its highest since Nov. 19.
So far this month, copper has gained 2.7%, making it all but certain the metal will notch its fifth consecutive monthly advance.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch. Laura Mandaro is a MarketWatch editor, based in San Francisco.
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