SHANGHAI'S jewelers increased gold jewelry prices again, the third time since September 17, as the precious metal continued to soar globally amid the turmoil in the world financial markets.

Major gold jewelers such as Laofengxiang and Shanghai Lao Miao Gold, started selling gold at 228 yuan a gram (US$33.38) from yesterday after last week's Wall Street turmoil spilled over to global financial markets.

Gold prices have been in a roller coaster ride this year, with the latest increases driven by jittery financial markets.

Last Thursday, they rose US$50 to US$863 an ounce, recording the largest one-day rise since February 1980.

In what some analysts have called a "once in a century" financial tumult that has shaken the world, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed for bankruptcy protection, Merrill Lynch & Co hocked itself in a fire sale to rival Bank of America, American International Group secured a rescue bail-out of US$85 billion from the Federal Reserve to avoid the same fate as Lehman, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley got the go-ahead to end their investment banking business.

Last week, investors witnessed the end of an era for Wall Street that has shaped the financial world for two decades. The financial turmoil kept pushing up gold prices as investors looked for a safe haven.

"We are not surprised by the way gold has reacted. With the cataclysmic downfall of a financial institution that was seemingly indestructible, investors around the world are on tenterhooks for the next piece of bad news," said Rozanna Wozniak, investment research manager, World Gold Council.

"Gold is looking like a good place to be right now," said Wozniak.

In addition to gold's safe haven perception, the council notes that inflationary pressures in many parts of the world remain significant and gold is still seen as a hedge against inflation. While gold's real value can vary in the short term, its purchasing power has remained stable over the centuries, the council said.