CHICAGO, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange further hiked on Wednesday, settling at a fresh record, buoyed up by mounting safe-haven demands. The metal even topped the key mark of 1,800 dollars per ounce during the intraday trading.

The most active gold contract for December delivery hiked 41.3 U.S. dollars, or 2.4 percent, to 1,784.3 dollars per ounce, the highest closing in history.

Market analysts said that global investors continue to monitor the instability in both the United States and European Union. Market hearsay went that Standard & Poor's may look at France for the next rating downgrade.

Global stocks Wednesday suffered sharp drops again on concerns that France may be next in losing its triple-A credit ratings. The cost of insuring French debt against default has risen as a result.

After S&P cut U.S. credit rating, gold has underwent three straight stride this week, or rising 8 percent, the biggest three- day rally since November 2008.

Traders noted that the overall problems in the U.S. are far from over and the appetite for haven assets like gold is very strong. Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Tuesday raised its 12- month gold price forecast to 2,000 dollars per ounce.

However, some investors began to cash in their fat profits. The world's largest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, SPDR Gold Trust, on Tuesday cut its gold holding to 1,297 metric tons from Monday's 1,310 metric tons.

Silver for September delivery hiked 1.444 dollars, or 3.8 percent, to 39.327 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery rose 15.3 dollars, or 0.87 percent, to 1,771.1 dollars per ounce.