Spot gold prices pushed to a fresh all-time high above $1,000 a troy ounce on Friday as investors sought refuge from financial turbulence after Bear Stearns, received emergency funding after its liquidity position “significantly deteriorated”.

Spot gold in London, the main industry benchmark, surged to a record intraday high of $1,007.10, up $12.10 on the day, as investors moved into the precious metal and the US dollar plunged to a fresh all-time low of $1.5688 against the euro. The dollar also hit a fresh 12-year low against the yen, trading as low as Y99.54.