SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Gold created yet another record in Asian trade Monday and crossed the $1160 an ounce mark mainly on heightened speculation of more investors diverting to the yellow metal.

Spot gold was seen trading at $1160.35 an ounce at 11.00 a.m Singapore time after hitting as high as $1162.24 an ounce earlier.

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Spot gold has risen 32 percent this year as the Dollar Index, a gauge of the greenback’s value against six major currencies including the euro and yen, tumbled 7.2 percent.

Gold futures in New York climbed for a seventh straight day as the most accurate dollar forecasters predict record low borrowing costs, rising unemployment and the ballooning U.S. trade deficit will weigh on the currency.

On Friday, December contract added $4.90 to settle at $1,146.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices gained 2.7 per cent.

Gold has rallied 10 percent in the past month and is headed for a ninth annual gain, the longest winning streak since at least 1948, after India’s purchase of 200 metric tons of gold from the IMF spurred speculation other central banks will follow suit.

The dollar, which often rises in times of increased uncertainty and worries about global growth, gave up early gains against a basket of currencies, while the commodity-linked Australian dollar benefited from the strong gold price.

Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver gained 0.9 percent to $18.675 an ounce, platinum added 0.6 percent to $1,455 an ounce, and palladium was little changed at $364.75 an ounce.