NEW YORK - April 15, 2011 - Gold rose to a record in New York on speculation that the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe will worsen, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative to currencies. Silver touched a 31-year high.

The price of gold reached an all-time high of $1,486.40 an ounce after Moody’s cut Ireland’s credit rating by two levels to the lowest investment grade, eroding the value of the euro. The dollar, while up today, is headed for the third straight weekly decline against a basket of currencies as Congress debates measures to reduce a record government deficit.

“Gold has become the currency of choice,” said Lannie Cohen, the president of Capitol Commodity Services, Inc. in Indianapolis. “The debt crises in Portugal and Ireland are getting worse. The U.S. has its own deficit problems. There’s just so much debt that the U.S. will have to continue quantitative easing to carry the deficit.”