Gold futures swung higher on Thursday and neared a record close as investors continued to hedge against a worse-than-expected recession. Contracts for the precious metal leaped as high as $1,897.70 per ounce, overtaking their all-time closing high of $1,891.90 from August 2011. The asset's intraday high is just a 1.4% climb away from breaching the previous intraday record of $1,923.70, also set in 2011. Gold has rallied sharply through the summer as investors bet on near-zero rates, growing economic risks, and inflation to boost the metal's value against the dollar.