Dow Jones News Service

NEW YORK—Gold prices surged to a four-month high Friday after crude oil spiked to a record and Wall Street stumbled anew—pointing investors to the relative safety of precious metals.

Other commodities traded mostly lower, with corn, soybeans and other agriculture futures falling.

After a week of volatile trading in the commodities complex, a myriad of dour economic news pushed gold prices skyward: Oil soared above $147 for the first time, stocks dove on concerns that mortgage companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae might collapse and the ...