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The price of gold topped $1,700 an ounce Sunday evening as fears of a global economic meltdown intensified.

According to the Times of India, “An unprecedented downgrade to the US credit rating sent investors scrambling out of riskier assets, hammering equity markets and the dollar. US gold futures touched an intraday high at $1,702.7 an ounce, while cash gold, which hit its 11th record in 19 sessions, could rise further if pledges by the Group of Seven nations to support battered financial markets fail to bear fruit.”

The Times reported, “The one notch downgrade by Standard & Poor’s of the US long-term rating on Friday added to the threat of contagion from the euro debt crisis, fears over recession in the United States and even the possibility ofa third round of U.S. quantitative easing.”

According to Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures, “I guess the uncertainty in the financial markets is keeping gold prices underpinned. It’s essentially safe-haven buying. One of the events that investors will watch is of course the FOMC [the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting committee] meeting that is scheduled Tuesday … investors will scrutinise the statement on the assessment of the economy and outlook for monetary policy.”

Gold has gained 19% in value since the beginning of the year.