As investors are driven to stay on the sidelines by the US and EU debt crises, they opted for gold, the commodity hit a record high US$1,603 (S$1,953) an ounce on Monday.

The general sense of fear in global sharemarkets has been driving gold all year. It added about US$10 an ounce at yesterday's trading. According to reports from Singapore Straits Times quoting the National Bureau of Economic Research, the last time gold prices rose 11 days straight was when the United States was in the final month of a six-month recession in July 1980.

Gold is up 12.6 percent since January when the commodity was at US$1,419 an ounce. In the past month alone, it has added 6.6 percent with some analysts expecting the rally to continue amid severe economic uncertainty.

Investors have opted to invest in the precious commodity as political uncertainty hounds the world's largest economy, the United States.

The US government is now locked in a political gridlock over a deal to raise the US$14.3 trillion debt ceiling. Failure to compromise - unlikely but still a real fear - may mean a default, wreaking havoc on global markets, the Straits Times said.

In Europe, worries over Greece, Italy and Spain continue to reduce risk appetite as fear takes a firm hold on investors.