Gold prices not only furthered their gaining momentum for the fourth session in a row on Thursday, but also scaled the unprecedented $1,800 an ounce levels as marketmen grew increasingly jittery amid the uncertainty looming over the financial markets. The yellow metal prices got buttressed by a slew of disappointing US macroeconomic data which painted an uglier picture of the economy, inflaming expectations of a catastrophic double-dip recession.

Gold futures for December delivery jumped $28.20 or 1.6%, to settle at $1,822 an ounce, after trading as high as $1,829.70 and as low as $1,786.80, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, whereas the spot gold prices garnered $32.30 to $1,822.60 an ounce.

Gold prices demonstrated a breathtaking rally, jumping to yet another record peak and sailing beyond the $1,700 an ounce levels on Monday. The yellow metal prices got the underpinning following the unprecedented US credit rating downgrade by S&P which has also kept its outlook as negative. The traders overlooked Group of Seven financial chiefs’ vow to stabilize financial markets and continued to take refuge under the safe haven amid amplifying worries over the global economic outlook.