Gold eked out a tenth straight gain on Friday, matching a record winning streak set four decades ago, as some began to seek a hedge against the growing threat of a catastrophic US government default.
A rally that ignited two weeks ago when euro zone debt fears revived has extended its run into record territory this week as President Barack Obama and Republicans traded demands for a serious deficit plan, deepening a stalemate in negotiations to raise the US debt limit before Aug. 2.
Gains in crude oil, a plunge in US consumer confidence and concerns about euro zone debt contagion also helped the metal to its largest two-week gain in over two years, rising more than 7% since the start of July.
"The longer the debt talk drags on, the more you would want to own a safe haven like gold. The crude oil market is also rallying quite nicely, and that's a big element in support for gold," said James Steel, chief commodity analyst at HSBC.
Spot gold was up 0.3% at USD 1,591.50 an ounce by 3:10 p.m. EDT (1910 GMT). It failed to hit a new peak after rallying to all-time highs in the previous two sessions, but stayed near the record of USD 1,594.16 hit on Thursday.
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