Price for gold rockets above $1,000 per ounce

Price for gold hits record of $1,119 per ounce

The new gold rush is on.

The price of the precious metal is soaring, hitting a record $1,119 an ounce on yesterday -- confounding market analysts who thought there was no way gold would remain so expensive when it first cracked the unheard-of $1,000 mark last year.

The remarkable run has implications far beyond those for savvy investors. In New York's diamond district, more people started showing up late last year to sell their gold, and the crush hasn't let up, said Anthony Iannelli, owner of Iannelli Diamonds.

"They're bringing in jewelry from the'70s and'80s they don't wear anymore," he said. "They're following the news and see prices are high. They realize they have a little cache, and want to take it out of the vault."

Typically, gold is a safe place for investors to park their money, said Kenneth M. Gassman Jr., founder and president of the Jewelry Industry Research Institute in Hanover County.

"It is a safe harbor and people are moving into it as they hedge against the weakening dollar," Gassman said. "The price increase has to do with the gold investors are buying."

Because gold is always sought-after, its value tends to be fairly stable. For example, when gold first reached $1,000 in March 2008, investors bought it up because they feared for the stability of the financial system.

This time is different. Investors -- think of them as the'09ers -- are buying gold to protect themselves against the falling dollar.

Currencies are weak investments around the world because of record-low interest rates. Foreign banks that hold substantial amounts of U.S. debt, such as China's, want to diversify their holdings.

News this month that India's central bank bought nearly $7 billion worth of gold from the International Monetary Fund triggered a frenzy of gold buying.

The surge in gold prices has been remarkable.

Gold is up 7 percent just this month, and 26 percent for the year. Some forecasters see it going to $1,500 or beyond -- unless the buying frenzy comes to a halt.

Some analysts are panning the gold speculation.

"You just don't see increases like this over the short term" that last, said Steve Condon, director of investor advisory services for Truepoint Capital in Cincinnati. "This isn't materially different from gambling."

-- The Associated Press and Times-Dispatch staff