The price of gold soared past $1,150 an ounce today for the first time in history, buoyed by the weak US currency, analysts said.
On the London Bullion Market, gold jumped to a record high of $1,150.52 an ounce after forging a series of all-time peaks in recent weeks.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro climbed as high as $1.4977 in the wake of disappointing data on housing starts and inflation in the US.
A weak greenback makes dollar-priced assets such as gold cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies, and tends to stimulate demand for them.
Analysts said that gold is getting support from a number of sources currently. Like all risk assets, it is benefiting from the sliding dollar, but it is also a safe haven for investors who are concerned about the safety of other currencies.
Central banks around the world are also building their reserves of the precious metal. China and Russia have recently added to their holdings, and could easily increase them again. India and Mauritius have just bought gold from the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF said on that it had sold two tonnes of gold to the central bank of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius for nearly $72m. Earlier this month, it sold 200 tonnes of gold to the central bank of India for $6.7 billion.
Sri Lanka's central bank also said it has been buying gold to diversify its reserves amid volatile currency markets.
