Gold is back in a bull market for the first time since 2013, buoyed by investors snapping up the metal as they seek a haven from the turmoil rocking equity markets.

Bullion for immediate delivery settled at $US1264.25 an ounce on Thursday. That marks a 20 per cent gain from the recent closing low in December, meeting the common definition of a bull market.

Gold rallied 19 per cent this year, beating gauges in Treasuries, currencies and equities amid concerns the slowdown in global growth will hurt the US economy. That's also fuelling bets the Federal Reserve may delay interest rate increases this year, helping boost the investment appeal for bullion, which doesn't pay yields or dividends.

A discrepancy in the way the GST applies to "scrap gold" versus gold bullion has been exploited. Phil Carrick

"You can't deny it's in a very strong uptrend, and investors are playing on that momentum," said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York, who helps manage about $US3 billion. "The way things are going in the stock market, people are running to gold."﻿

Bloomberg