Gold held steady below its record high on Tuesday, on course for a 12th straight day of gains, as growing sovereign debt worries on either side of the Atlantic continued to support sentiment. Spot gold rose to as high as $1,606.70 an ounce, just a hair off the record high of $1,607.01 hit on Monday. It was trading at $1,605.16 by 0606 GMT, up 0.1 percent.
US gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,606.10.