Steve's here now. And if it glittered today, it was gold. Gold, indeed, yes. Warriors over the state of the U.S. economy have sent many investors fleeing for safety. That means the price for an ounce of gold has now topped $1,000. The slide of the U.S. dollar and waning confidence in equity markets have prompted investors to pile into traditional safe havens. Prices for commodities, particularly precious metals, have risen dramatically in recent months and gold does remain the preferred port in the current market storm. Excavating for gold is getting more and more difficult. The cost of extracting the precious metal from the ground as here in Sweden just keeps on climbing. So, on the one hand, demand for gold is growing, on the other hand, supply is slowing down. That's one factor in the steeply rising price. Another is that more and more investors see gold as a safe haven for their money. In the last two years, the price for a finance of gold has increased by almost 80 percent and has now reached the psychological barrier of $1,000 an ounce. Another factor in gold's favour, it's priced in U.S. dollars. The dramatic fall in the value of the greenback means gold is still relatively cheap for investors in the Eurozone and that too is pushing demand. Well, European equity markets fell sharply this Thursday for a summary of what pushed the Frankfurt market. Lower, our correspondent Stefan Wolf sent us this report. The relly of raw material prices shows the uncertainty of investors at the stock markets. Investors sell shares and search for safe havens and they think they find them in oil and gold in other raw materials. The record high prices of gold also show the fear of inflation and inflation is born in the oil price, really, of course. On the other hand, there are many signs that the U.S. economy is weaker than expected before. On Thursday, it was a week retail sales that dragged down the mood here on the floor. After two very good days, the U.S. decided to take their profits out of the market because the uncertainty remains. Stefan Wolf in Frankfurt, where we can stay for a closer look at the market numbers and the DAX managed to trim some of its losses in late trading but still finished one and a half percent lower at 6,500 points. Even the U.S. stocks 50 index of Eurozone blue chips also fell this Thursday finishing the day at 35.99. Different story in New York shares they rebounded on forecasts that financial institutions are over the worst of the subprime mortgage crisis. That would be very welcome news. At the end of trading the DAX, up slightly at 12,145 points. And on currency markets, the Euro is still flying high against the U.S. dollar, currently trading in a value of $1 U.S. dollar 56.13.