Gold price blasts past $5,000 to record high

Bullion has risen over 17% so far this year

- YIHUI XIE JACK RYAN

An employee displays gold bars at a Korea Gold Exchange store in Seoul yesterday.AFP

(AFP)

Gold surged past $5,000 (155,000 baht) an ounce for the first time, extending a breakneck rally fuelled by US President Donald Trump's reshaping of international relations and investor flight from sovereign bonds and currencies.

Bullion jumped as much as 2.1% to near $5,100 as dollar weakness reinforced demand. A gauge of the greenback has fallen almost 2% in six sessions, with speculation that the US may assist Japan in efforts to boost the yen adding to worries over Federal Reserve independence and Trump's erratic policymaking. Silver also spiked to a record above $109 an ounce, gaining for a third day.

Gold's dramatic gains - the metal has more than doubled in the past two years - drives home bullion's historic role as a gauge of fear in markets. Fresh from its best annual performance since 1979, it's risen more than 17% so far this year due largely to the so-called debasement trade, whereby investors retreat from currencies and Treasuries. A massive selloff in the Japanese bond market last week is the latest example of investors rejecting heavy fiscal spending.