The price of gold has continued its climb to record heights, and Australians investors are jumping on board, as the US government shutdown becomes the latest element of economic uncertainty pushing investors to seek safety in the precious metal.

At the end of last week, bullion was trading at US$3886 ($5886) per ounce, after a stand-off over funding in the US Senate triggered a shutdown that sent gold’s spot price to its record high of US$3897 on Thursday. It marks eight weeks of gains for the commodity, beginning its run from a price of US$3290 at the end of July.

Driving the surge in gold’s value has been a range of factors, said Shane Oliver, chief economist and head of investment strategy at AMP.

One thing at play is that central banks have been increasing their gold holdings recent

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