Gold is hovering near $940/oz with Russia's leading precious metals producers claiming to Business RT the price will keep rising, because paper currencies are no longer trusted.

Exchange-traded funds backed by bullion have jumped to all-time highs. Gold bar holdings in SPDR Gold Trust on Thursday rose to 970 metric tons, more than the reserves of all but six countries in the world. Precious metals producer Polymetal is now looking to buy five rivals, to gain on record prices, according to CEO, Vitaly Nesis.

“Investors have begun to realise that all paper currencies, even the dollar, are man-made inventions, and their value can collapse very quickly.”

Investor Jim Rogers says by spending their way out the crisis “governments are bankrupting themselves and destroying paper currency”. That's attracting those who never before thought of investing in gold according to Tim McCutcheon, Partner at DBM Capital.

“You're seeing a real wave of buying not just from institutional, professional investors. You're seeing ordinary people buying gold more and more often for investment purposes.

A lot of the government help that's going out to help the economy, people are becoming more sceptical that A. they're going to help and B. things are going to be the same going forward.”

Vladimir Titkov, Head of Investment Banking M&A at Uralsib adds that gold will retain value in tough economic times.

“As long as the global financial crisis continues, gold prices will hold, if not rise.”

Unicredit analyst Marat Gabitov told Business RT gold is now the ‘only risk-free investment’. The world's second largest producer by market value Goldcorp claims by the end of next year bullion will more than double to $2,000 an ounce.