Gold prices remained near record high in Asian trade Friday as investors continued to trust the precious yellow metal amid Europe's financial crisis.

Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1244.84 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time after hitting as high as $1248.35 in early trade.

However, Gold futures for August delivery fell 0.2 per cent to $1246.50.

Meanwhile, Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, increased 1.83 metric tons to a record 1307.96 tons.

Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $18.73 an ounce and palladium fell 0.2 per cent to $481 an ounce, while platinum was declined 0.2 per cent to $1574.75 an ounce.

The euro held steady near three-week highs on Friday, as investors liquidated short positions after a robust response to Spanish bond auctions, while the U.S. dollar appeared vulnerable to a sell-off.

On Thursday, spot gold jumped as much as 1.8 per cent to $1251.25, near an all-time high of $1252.11 on June 8.

Bullion for August delivery gained $18.20, or 1.5 per cent, to close at $1,248.70 US an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange that broke its previous record close, set the previous week on June 8th, of $1,245.60.

Gold has risen as much as 14 per cent since the start of the year.

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