Gold at an all time-high

Gold has crossed the psychological barrier of $1700 an ounce as investors flocked to the safe haven metal following Standard & Poor\'s downgrade of US debt and market instability. The price of gold touched $1,704.30 an ounce in Hong Kong trade as Asian bourses tumbled on the basis of news reports that the United States\' credit rating has been lowered and the Eurozone debt crisis has spread. As markets around the world continue their fall with big losses reported in oil, gold zoomed to another record as investors scampered to moved out of risky assets. Since both the Standard & Poor\'s downgrade and Eurozone debt culminated at the same time, panic has gripped financial markets. Tokyo lost 2.16 percent today, Hong Kong shed 4.04 percent till hald day, Sydney dived 1.96 percent, Bombay lost 2.73 percent and Singapore dropped 4.61 percent, while Seoul fell 6.3 percent. There is a sense of visible nervousness amidst fears of global meltdown in world capitals, prompting officials from G7 nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States to pledge to \"take all necessary measures to support financial stability and growth\"