Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose to more than $1,000 an ounce for the first time in almost a year in New York as investors, spooked by plunging stocks and a deepening recession, sought to protect their wealth.

Gold futures for April delivery rose as much as $23.80, or 2.4 percent, to $1,000.30 an ounce and traded at $999.30 at 9:04 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Gold, the only metal to advance in 2008, has rallied every year since 2000.