Gold Price Rises in Tandem With Fears

Gold notched another record Monday as investors sought protection from fiscal woes in Euroland and the first-ever downgrade of U.S. government securities.

Investors concerned about the ability of the European Central Bank and the world's seven richest nations to stanch falling prices for Italian and Spanish government bonds pushed up the price of gold to $1,716.70 per Troy ounce on the Comex in New York. With concerns about the credit-worthiness of Italian and Spanish government debt cutting their prices, investor demand for gold lifted the commodity's value.

The gold price, which set its fourth record high in five days, also rose in reaction to ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut Friday evening in the U.S. long-term debt rating from AAA to AA+, the first such move in the nation's history. The move raised concerns that the U.S. dollar will continue to weaken.

So far this year, gold has gained more than 20 percent.

"What people are realizing is that dollar and euro currencies have real problems and I think that's manifesting in the gold price," said Dominic Schnider, executive director for wealth management research at UBS.

"I would say the way things evolve right now I really could even imagine $2,000 being in the cards."