Gold prices set new record intraday and closing prices Friday as investors looked for safe places to put their cash after a vote on raising the debt ceiling in the US was postponed Thursday after it became clear that the Republican plan did not have the votes to pass.

December gold added $15 to close at $1,631 per troy ounce in New York, a new closing record, while the contract traded as high as $1,637.50 per tory ounce, an intraday high.

Gold was up 1.9 percent during the week and added 8.5 percent for the month as it added $128.40 per troy ounce to its value in July.

September silver was also higher, adding 31 cents to $40.11 per troy ounce, holding steady in trade this week but adding 15 percent in July, but October platinum was down $7.10 to $1,785.30 per troy ounce and September palladium dropped 40 cents to $827.70 per troy ounce although both platinum and palladium were higher earlier in the session, after the Obama administration proposed tough new fuel-economy requirements for new vehicles.

Both platinum and palladium are used in the manufacture of pollution control devices for cars and trucks.

Platinum dropped 0.7 percent on the week but was up 3.4 percent this month, while palladium gained 2.6 percent this week and added 8.8 percent in July.

September copper added a cent to $4.48 per pound in New York trade and three-month contracts were $16 higher to $9,830 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange as workers at the Escondida mine in Chile remained on strike for an eighth day after the union representing them rejected an offer from management.

Additionaly, a new analysis from Citibank said that production of copper in Chile was down in June, falling by 8.5 percent from June 2010.

Nickel was higher in London trade, but other base metals were lower on the session.