Gold coins and bars at California Numismatic Investments in Inglewood, California (file photo)Wary investors are buying gold, pushing prices upward on precious metal trading markets.

Gold prices topped the $1,000 an ounce mark for just the third time during trading on Tuesday, climbing to their highest level since February before falling again.

Investors say gold has become an increasingly attractive investment because of concerns about the value of the U.S. dollar and other currencies.

They fear massive spending efforts by world governments to stimulate economic growth will lead to inflation and cause many currencies to decline in value.

Some economists say the current rush to buy gold is also the result of fears that the world's stock markets are headed for a steep decline.

The highest price paid for gold came in March 2008, when prices also topped $1,030 an ounce.

The price of gold on the world market has been rising steadily in recent weeks.

People traditionally buy gold during difficult economic times because they think it will hold its value better than other investments. For that same reason, investors also buy gold when they think the value of the U.S. dollar is going to decline.


Some information for this report was provided by Bloomberg, AP and Reuters.