Gold prices today $US1,620 an ounce July 25 2011

Gold prices today $US1,620 an ounce July 25 2011 ; Gold hit a record high above $US1,620 an ounce today, while the dollar steadied and stock futures fell as investors piled into bullion over fears of a possible US debt default as the debt ceiling talks in Washington stalled.

Spot gold, which has risen nearly 14 per cent so far this year, climbed more than one per cent to a record of $US1,622.49 an ounce, before easing to $US1,614.06 by 1054 AEST. US gold also hit a record at $US1,624.30. It was last quoted at $US1,614.80.

Clocks are ticking towards the August 2 deadline for US deficit talks, while President Barack Obama and congressional leaders struggled late on Sunday to break a partisan impasse.

"Markets are focusing on whether the negotiations will be resolved," ANZ commodities analyst Natalie Robertson said. "At this time, we'll see continued volatility and increased safe-haven buying in gold."

Hedge funds and other large speculators last week boosted their bullish bets in US gold futures to the highest in nearly two years as gold rallied on the euro zone's debt crisis and uncertainties around the US deficit talks.

Rating agency Standard & Poor's last week reiterated that there was a 50-50 chance the US AAA credit rating could be cut within three months.

Spot gold has rallied in 14 of this month's 17 trading sessions, and is up 7.6 per cent from the end of last month. But so far this year, it has lagged spot silver's 31 per cent climb.

"If the US defaults, gold will go up. If they manage to deal with it, we may see gold come down quite quickly," a Singapore based trader said.

The US dollar steadied against a basket of currencies as investors looked for signs of progress to break the impasse in the US budget talks.

Spot silver gained 0.9 per cent to $US40.38, after a 1.9 per cent gain last week. US silver rose 0.8 per cent to $US40.44.