Gold breaches $1,000 milestone for first-ever time
13-03-2008
The price of gold has surpassed $1,000 (£493) for the first-time ever as the dollar slipped further.
Earlier today gold peaked at $1,001 on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid fears of a US recession.
Record crude oil prices have exasperated the problem, with the dollar slumping to simultaneous record lows against the euro and the yen.
During Asian trading hours the dollar slipped to 100 yen, its lowest level since 1996.
The cost of gold, a key indicator of economic confidence, has risen steadily since the subprime lending crisis in mid-2007.
Since the new year the price of gold futures has increased by a fifth.
In a market report Fortis Bank said: "Every bit of bad US economic data boosts gold in two ways.
"First because it reinforces the return of its role as a safe-haven asset, and second because the dollar falls on expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts."
Although today marks the first time gold has breached the symbolic $1,000 barrier, in 1980 it reached $850, worth more than $2,100 in today's terms.
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