HONG KONG - Hong Kong gold prices hit a new all-time high Friday, touching 898.00 US dollars an ounce, before falling back to 894.00-894.50 dollars, dealers said.

The precious metal closed Thursday here at 873.50-874.00 dollars. "Gold hit a high this morning of 898.00 dollars," said Gary Yue, gold dealer at Delta Asia Financial Group.

The sharp rise came after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank was ready to implement fresh interest rate cuts if necessary amid lingering economic uncertainty. -AFP