So many customers flocked to a New York City gold dealer this past week that staff had to ask people to wait outside.

"I'll go through this all day long," said Chief Executive Ben Tseytlin, about the people piling into his shop, Bullion Exchanges. Some were there to sell gold, but increasingly people are coming to buy, he said.

It is one of several jewelry dealers along a stretch of Manhattan known as the Diamond District, where business has been thriving as gold and silver values rise. That has brought a flood of new faces to the crowded Midtown block that holds roughly 2,600 businesses, many owned by members of New York's Orthodox Jewish community. Vendors hang out on the sidewalks to try to grab customers.

"Selling gold?" is the common cry of the street.

"Over here, buddy," said a vendor as he flashed a business card.

At Diamond District Gold Buyers, owner Sandro Ragovski said he has had trouble keeping enough cash in the store to pay out people unloading their gold. He sometimes pays them partly by check. Recently, he had to walk to the bank with a seller who wanted a certified one.

"Cash runs out," he said.

Gold futures settled Wednesday at a record $4,043.30 a troy ounce, the special unit of weight used for precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum that dates to medieval trade markets. A day earlier, the precious metal surpassed $4,000 a troy ounce, a sign investors are rushing to alternative assets in the midst of concern regarding the U.S. economy. On Thursday, prices retreated from records, ending a four-session streak of gains, though futures remained near $4,000.

Bullion has flourished in recent months, boosted by worries about the outlook for inflation and the prospects for major currencies. Those includes the dollar, which has been weakened by concern about President Trump's upending of the postwar economic order. Geopolitical tension, including the Russia-Ukraine war, are bullish for gold.

Tseytlin spent most of the summer tending to customers who-spurred by gold's historic run-wanted to turn family heirlooms or coins into cash. More recently, those sellers have turned into buyers, he said.

"That's not a normal thing," Tseytlin said. He attributes the boom in bullion buyers to worry about the economy. People are buying gold coins and bars to stash, he said. His storefront is lined with various gold coins-including Krugerrands from South Africa-and 20-ounce bars of silver. There are gold coins wrapped in Diwali packaging for the coming Hindu holiday, and others from places like Canada and Switzerland.

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The Gold Rush in Manhattan's Diamond District(https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/the-gold-rush-in-manhattans-diamond-district-b5cb8671)