Watch gold run to 17-year high & HIGHERThe National Post reports in its Thursday, edition that gold soared more than $10 an ounce Wednesday closing at $479.10 in New York, marking the biggest one-day jump for gold in 16 months and the highest closing price since 1988 (all figures U.S.). The Post's David Berman writes that Dynamic Mutual Funds portfolio manager Robert Cohen said: "What's driving gold today is the fear of inflation ... Inflation seems to propel gold more feverishly than anything else." Wednesday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 4.3 per cent in October over last year. Longer term, though, gold's shine may also be a result of a new attitude among some central banks, which want to diversify away from the U.S. dollar and into hard assets. Curiously, this comes at a time when foreign investors have taken a renewed interest in U.S.-dollar investments. Some unnamed observers, however, believe the greenback will perform poorly in the near future, thanks to ballooning current account and budget deficits in the United States. The latest spike in gold has coincided with a rising U.S. dollar -- meaning gold is now rising against most currencies.