By: Reuters
Gold settled at a record high of $1,852 on Friday, on safe-haven buying, but as U.S. stocks drifted low led by lagging tech and bank stocks.
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Gold surged to a record $1,881.40 an ounce before pulling back.
Traders were emboldened by a Wall Street Journal report citing Japan's top currency official as saying that Japanese authorities do not plan to intervene in the market often.
Gold prices rallied more than 2.5 percent as investors sought refuge from volatility in global equities markets.
"At the moment the market is just looking for relative safe havens," said Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie. "You can see that in the sell-offs across equity markets overnight. The strength of gold is the other side of the coin from that."
Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower but then seesawed, with the S&P 500 [.SPX Loading... () 
] and Nasdaq Composite Index [.IXIC Loading... () ]indices in positive territory. By early afternoon, stocks were down again.
] and Nasdaq Composite Index [.IXIC Loading... () ]indices in positive territory. By early afternoon, stocks were down again.Spot gold [GCQ1 Loading... () ] was last trading near $1,848, on track for its biggest one-month rise in nearly 12 years in August.Gold for December delivery [GCZ1 Loading... () ], the most actively traded futures contract, traded up $30.2 to settle at $1,852.2.
] was last trading near $1,848, on track for its biggest one-month rise in nearly 12 years in August.Gold for December delivery [GCZ1 Loading... () ], the most actively traded futures contract, traded up $30.2 to settle at $1,852.2.The euro recovered early losses in thin trading, gaining momentum on stop-loss selling. But it remained at risk of coming under renewed pressure from a darkening global economic outlook and worries about funding in the euro zone banking sector.
The U.S. dollar index [.DXY Loading... () ] slipped 0.3 percent to 74.00 as a result of a rebound in the euro [EUR=X Loading... () ], up 0.4 percent at $1.4385. European shares ended sharply lower, the FTSEurofirst 300[.FTEU3 Loading... () ] index of top European shares was down 1.6 percent.
] slipped 0.3 percent to 74.00 as a result of a rebound in the euro [EUR=X Loading... () ], up 0.4 percent at $1.4385. European shares ended sharply lower, the FTSEurofirst 300[.FTEU3 Loading... () ] index of top European shares was down 1.6 percent."The market is very concerned about the deteriorating outlook for global growth in general and the United States in particular," said Marcus Svedberg, chief economist at East Capital, which has 5 billion euros (US$7.2 billion) under management.
U.S. Treasury yields ![[cnbc explains]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_syuYBtGzjLe8W9Fk5fClOhG790s5E89cRSuW3RHwMqiRksLq52k-NOFdOq-9qbu1LZWEo5515kuLjaEysCN_Tv0zez3m3d3WE371DMOLEgZipK83xMKPJv1Feei9Y7e-Ta5avWsVzofCeFoagMOlTMk3L6qfleILyaVd9LTpuCMy2iNX1jDnEOl0cKtBcqew=s0-d)
inched back up from lows last seen in at least 60 years on as some investors took profits from Thursday's bond rally. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 8/32 in price to yield 2.09 percent. The yield at one point on Thursday fell to a low of 1.97 percent.
inched back up from lows last seen in at least 60 years on as some investors took profits from Thursday's bond rally. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 8/32 in price to yield 2.09 percent. The yield at one point on Thursday fell to a low of 1.97 percent.Yields have dropped almost a full percentage point on the 10-year note in August as disappointing economic data, the Federal Reserve's low interest-rate policy and jitters over rising bank funding costs drove investors to safe-haven bonds.
low interest-rate policy and jitters over rising bank funding costs drove investors to safe-haven bonds.Brent crude rose after Spanish measures to address the country's economic weakness helped to reverse some of the deep sell-off triggered by concern the world is heading back into recession .
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