NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Gold prices surged to their highest level in more than two years Monday, driven by increasing fears about the possibility of another major terror attack, a weakening U.S. dollar, falling stock prices and uncertainty about the state of the U.S. economy.

In afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold jumped $5.10 to $316 per troy ounce, the highest level since February 2000, according to data at the Gold Information Network.

"The general state of the economy, financial market health, concerns about what's going on in the Middle East and other political concerns have contributed to a general state of uncertainty about what the future holds and what this means for financial markets," said analyst Vanessa Motto, associate director of CPM Group, a precious metals research firm. "That appears to have had some affect on the U.S. dollar, which favors higher gold prices."

The dollar, whose strength in recent years has been a major deterrent to higher gold prices, according to Motto, was weakened Monday by comments by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney that another major terror attack against the United States was "not a matter of if, but when." New suicide bombings in the Middle East and rising tensions between India and Pakistan added to the uncertainty.

U.S. stock prices fell on such concerns and on a weaker-than-expected report about leading U.S. economic indicators, raising the possibility that the economy could be slow to recover from a recession that began in 2001.

Together, the factors added a poisonous combination for the dollar and drove investors to the safer haven of gold, U.S. Treasury bonds and safe-harbor stocks.

Gold-related stocks, including Placer Dome Inc. (PDG: Research, Estimates), Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX: Research, Estimates) and Newmont Mining Corp (NEM: up $0.69 to $30.14, Research, Estimates)., also rose.

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The price of gold has jumped about 14 percent in 2002, and gold mining stocks are up about 52 percent, according to a Reuters report.

And gold prices, which Motto said broke through a key resistance level of $314 an ounce on Monday, aren't likely to fall any time soon -- barring a major miracle.

"It's less likely that you'll see all sources of uncertainty cleared up in a nice, neat way," Motto said. "There's likely to be uncertainty in the future, and gold prices will be sustained at current levels or higher."