Gold struck $1,816.25 on the London Bullion Market shortly before 1200 GMT, beating the previous record of $1,814.95 that was forged on August 11.

It later pulled back slightly to stand at $1,809.65 an ounce.

The new high came as Europe's main stock markets were plunging ahead of US inflation data, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 index down more than 4.0 percent.

"There is another air of panic out there in the market today, what with the DAX... US crude oil falling two dollars and European banks getting crushed again," said Ian O'Sullivan, an analyst at Spread Co. trading group.

"The beneficiary once again of this nervousness has been gold, which has shot up another 30 dollars today."

Gold is seen as a safe bet in times of economic uncertainty.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011