Gold surged to a record high for the fourth day running on Tuesday, fuelled by renewed concern over high sovereign debt in eurozone countries such as Ireland and Greece and inflationary pressures.

Spot gold hit US$1,422.30 a troy ounce. The precious metal was bid at US$1,418.40 an ounce at 1124 GMT from US$1,409.09 late in New York on Monday.

Silver touched US$28.46 an ounce, the highest since March 1980, and palladium saw US$728.22 an ounce, its highest since April 2001.

“We have a combination: inflation fears, currency market uncertainty, fears about the financial strength of some countries,” said Alexander Zumpfe of Heraeus Metals.

Mr. Zumpfe said remarks by World Bank President Robert Zoellick that leading economies should consider readopting a modified gold standard, had also helped reignite interest in the precious metal.

Worries about price pressures were reinforced last week by the U.S. Federal Rederal which annnounced further monetary policy easing to help boost economic growth in the world’s largest economy, the United States.

“Inflation concerns and eurozone debt worries have helped accentuate the surge this week initiated by the weakness in the dollar,” said investment bank Fairfax in a note.

News that the Fed would buy back US$600-billion of U.S. government bonds initially weakened the dollar and propelled commodity prices higher, particularly gold, which has gained nearly 30% this year so far.

G20 CONCERNS

Also on the radar is this week’s G20 summit. Officials from Germany, Brazil, China and South Africa are among those expressing concern that the Fed’s money printing could weaken the dollar and drive up commodity prices.

If the G20 fails to defuse global tensions, it may heighten investor concerns that policymakers are drifting further apart, leaving the world economy vulnerable.

“There is a lot of uncertainty ahead of the G20 meeting. If there are no surprises we may see a correction afterwards,” said David Wilson, analyst at Societe Generale.

“Gold is using any excuse to go higher.”

Traders think the target this rally is US$1,475 an ounce. “Beyond that US$1,500 is only a short ride,” one trader said, adding high seasonal physical demand was another factor behind the rise in precious metal prices.