NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - COMEX gold futures scaled a six-year high Friday morning as fears of looming war in Iraq boosted the safe-haven metal, while the U.S. dollar tumbled and U.S. blue-chip stocks fell, traders said.
Benchmark February futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division jumped $4 at 1156 EST to $368.70 an ounce, its highest level since December 1996, trading from $362.80 to $369.
Gold, often used as an alternative investment option in troubled times and volatility in other financial markets, is 30 percent higher than this time last year.
"The dollar is getting smashed, they are killing the stock market, the war drums are beating and gold is rallying," said Scott Meyers, analyst at Pioneer Futures in New York.
Spot gold soared to $368.50/9.30 an ounce at midday, after it fixed in the afternoon in London at $366 an ounce, a peak since Jan. 2, 1997.