Further gains see gold close week up 7.3%

GOLD prices rose by 2% yesterday to reach a record high of $1,877 per ounce as equity-wary investors continued to switch theirattention to the commodity markets.

Increased talk of a slowdown in the world’s economy hit international stock markets again, with poor early trading levels pulling European stocks down to their lowest level for two years.

Yesterday’s rise in gold meant that its price has now reached record levels on nine separate occasions this month alone. In the last week alone, gold prices have risen by 7.3% — the commodity’s best value showing since the end of 2008.