The money-counting machine at the crowded Bao Tin gold shop in a quiet back street of Hanoi seems to endlessly churn through bills. Staff snatch time between sales to log onto the Internet, checking prices in London and Hong Kong.

        “Every time I save enough money, I buy some gold. It doesn't matter to me what the price is, because it's for savings,” says Tran Tri Loan, a vegetable and flower farmer.

        The business of gold is booming in Vietnam — and almost everywhere these days.

        Terrorism fears, Middle East tensions, renewed hostilities between India and Pakistan, Japan's wobbly economy — all have contributed to the recent surge in the price of gold to its highest level in more than 2 1/2 years.

        The price of gold has surged more than 15 percent since the year began and is now at a level not seen since October 1999, when it hit $333 in intraday trading, according to the London-based World Gold Council. Gold traded at $327.55 an ounce Friday in Hong Kong, up $2.80 from Thursday.

        Added to the speculative pressures driving the flight into gold is the age-old appetite for the precious metal among Asians, who traditionally have used it as a hedge against uncertainty.

        Worldwide, purchases of gold investment products surged 36 percent in the first quarter of the year, the World Gold Council reported.

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