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(Best Syndication News) Although gold was lower later in the day after closing, December futures reached an all-time high Tuesday. Nearly all commodities, except pork, have been rocketing skyward over the past year. Interestingly, the higher prices were accompanied by a higher dollar. The dollar hit a one month high on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it had sold 200 metric tons of the precious metal to India's central bank. The sale, which totaled $6.7 billion, is part of an IMF plan to sell over 400 metric tons of gold. Some reports suggest that China may be the “main buyer” of remaining IMF stockpile.

Our index of commodities has gone up since we last reported on them in October. On October 14th our index of 23 commodities was priced at $398.39. Today that same index is priced at $404.80.

Buffet and the Future of Coal

Although the Oracle of Omaha says his purchase of 77% of railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI) is based on his confidence in the future of the United States, he is also betting on coal, according to Siobhan Hughes and Mark Peters with Dow Jones.

According to Frank O’Donnell, President of the environmental group, Clean Air Watch, Buffet believes coal use will remain strong. “This is a $34 billion dollar bet that coal will remain the centerpiece of American energy policy in the future."

Burlington carries enough coal which will generate 10 percent of the electricity in the U.S. Coal accounted for 23% of the Fort Worth Texas companies freight revenue. Nearly all of that, about 90 percent, came from the Powder River Basin, the coal-rich area in Wyoming and Montana.

"As energy prices go up, it becomes more and more important to ship by rail--that's a factor," Buffett said in an interview. "It's a factor in why the country has a huge interest in fostering rail." He said that rails "carry a lot of coal, but 25 years from now they won't be carrying as much."

By: Steven Potter
Best Syndication News Business Writer