Gold price hits a 25-year high at 700 dollars Wednesday. (Filephoto)

    BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Gold hit a 25-year high of 700.70 dollars an ounce on Wednesday due to a weak dollar, tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions and overall upward momentum in the commodities markets.

    These persistent factors have been pushing gold prices to multi-decade records for months now. Gold has risen 40 percent since late November, when for the first time in two decades the most-active contract broke through 500 dollars an ounce.

    The euro rose against the dollar as high as 1.2783 Tuesday on a report showing increasing U.S. wholesale inventories and on the worry that the Federal Reserve will pause in raising interest rates after one more move, to 5 percent from 4.75 percent. Fifteen consecutive interest-rate hikes have been a boon for the dollar, and an end to that tightening campaign would make the U.S. currency less attractive to investors.

    On the political front, Iran's president wrote Monday in a letter to his U.S. counterpart that "democracy had failed worldwide" and lamented "an ever-increasing global hatred" of the U.S. government. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected the letter Tuesday, saying it didn't resolve questions about the country's nuclear program. Ongoing fears about how Iran ¡ª one of the world's biggest oil producers ¡ª might react to possible sanctions by the United Nations has been especially bullish for the energy markets, which in turn boosts metals.

    Other metals also rose as well Tuesday.

    Platinum rose to a 1,243 dollar-an-ounce record, before settling at 1,239.30 an ounce, up 37.40 on the day.

    Palladium also soared to a fresh high of 395 dollars an ounce, ending the day at 394.90 an ounce, up 19.65.

    Silver rose 69.5 cents to settle at 14.465 dollars an ounce.

    High gold prices also pulled mining stocks higher Tuesday. Shares of Barrick Gold Corp., the world's largest gold producer, rose 90 cents, or 2.6 percent, to close at 34.87 dollars on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of rival Newmont Mining Co. rose 2.20 dollars, or 4 percent, to close at 57.93.

    Gold futures broke through the 600 dollar-an-ounce level for the first time since 1980 last month. Enditem

(Agencies)