GOLD PRICES HAVE HIT A NEW record-high today as rising fears over eurozone sovereign debt, including Ireland’s, encouraged investors to turn to gold.

Concerns that the government won’t pass the budget next month are fuelling eurozone fears, according to Reuters.

PFGBest gold specialist Michael Daly said: “The bond situation in Ireland was worse than expected, so investors looked to move money into a safe haven”, according to the Globe and Mail.

Today’s gold price is the fourth straight session in which gold has hit a record high. Silver and palladium are also showing top prices.

Global markets analyst Michelle Kwek based in Singapore told Reuters that the push for oil and gold shows “a general return to risk aversion” by investors.

The head of global derivatives at Samsung Futures Inc told Bloomberg that investors are looking to gold because the euro is falling and the dollar is expected to fall.

Bloomberg reports that concern Greece would go bankrupt earlier this year helped boost gold prices to a then-record level.