Gold priced in sterling struck a lifetime high around £957.69 on Wednesday fuelled by lingering worries about the debt crisis in Europe. Greece’s government will approve its new austerity package on Wednesday after it survived a confidence vote.
Gold in sterling rose by as much as 0.5% on the day to a high of £957.69 an ounce, a new all-time peak, bringing its gains for the year to 5.2%, compared with a 9% gain in the dollar price of gold. Gold in euros was trading up about 0.%on the day just below 1,075 euros an ounce, off a recent record 1,088.11 euros, while the euro itself was flat against the dollar.
The single European currency took some comfort from the confidence vote in Greece, where government will approve its new austerity package on Wednesday, hopefully avoiding the euro zone’s first sovereign debt default.
Recent gains in gold were driven by debt problems in Europe, inflation fears in China following strong economic data and worries about a US economic slowdown.
