* Silver hits new 2-1/2-year high
* Platinum hits highest since late June
* Gold may peak around $1,300 -technicals []
* Coming up: U.S. industrial output Aug; 1315 GMT
(Updates prices; adds comments, AngloGold)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Spot gold was steady after
surging to a record in the previous session, and more upside is
likely as investors remain nervous about the global economic
recovery.
Spot gold <XAU=> was little changed at $1,270 an ounce by
0800 GMT, after having surged more than 2 percent to a record
$1,274.75 an ounce in the previous session, its biggest one-day
gain in four months.
"Reaching $1,300 is just a matter of time. The most
important factors are zero interest rates and that the world
economy outside Asia still seems unstable," said a Hong
Kong-based dealer. "These are all positive signs for gold."
U.S. short-term rates remained steady at low levels on
Tuesday, anchored by the Federal Reserve's determination to
keep rates down, likely making gold attractive as an
investment. []
Still, the latest data from the U.S. helped ease fears of a
double-dip recession by showing August retail sales posted
their largest gain in five months. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings rose to 1,298.698 tonnes
by Sept 14 from 1,292.619 tonnes by Sept 13. The holdings hit a
record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. []
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd <ANGJ.J>, the world's third-largest
gold miner, plans to remove its gold hedge book -- one of the
biggest among its global peers -- by early 2011.
[]
The move should help underpin gold prices, dealers said.
"The market is still on the upside. There's some buying
interest from the option-related business. For the physical
side, we see some buying interest from China," said Peter Fung,
head of the dealing department of Wing Fung Precious Metals in
Hong Kong.
"We are seeing mixed interests at the $1,268 to $1,270
level. There is some bargain-hunting here. From here, the
market is looking at the $1,280 to $1,290 level."
The interest from central banks in adding to their gold
holdings is rising, after years of selling bullion, which would
prove to be a major supportive plank for the market, said Ben
Westmore, commodities economist at National Australia Bank.
"The central bank story really looks like it's gone from
one of net selling to net accumulations. In addition to
purchases by central banks in Asia, we calculate Russia may
have added 90 tonnes to its gold stocks in the quarter ending
June," he said.
On the Shanghai Gold Exchange, spot gold <XAU9999=SGEX> hit
an intra-day high of 276.17 yuan a gram, just a notch lower
than the all time high of 276.99 yuan. The most-active gold
contract for December delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange
<SHAUZ0> closed up 1.4 percent at 276.55 yuan.
"Worries over inflation are a major factor pushing up gold
prices. In addition, there is the seasonal boost in demand from
countries including China and India," said Zhu Yilin, general
manager of the research and development department of Jingyi
Futures in Shanghai.
Spot silver <XAG=> rose to $20.52 an ounce, the highest in
two and a half years, before easing to $20.46 an ounce.
Platinum <XPT=> hit $1,601.5 an ounce, the highest since June
21, before softening to $1,588.5, up 0.1 percent from the
previous close.
Palladium <XPD=> was little changed at $549.5, after having
hit $553, the highest since end-April.
Precious metals prices at 0800 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1270.00 -0.27 -0.02 15.91
Spot Silver 20.46 0.06 +0.29 21.57
Spot Platinum 1588.50 2.20 +0.14 8.28
Spot Palladium 549.50 1.75 +0.32 35.51
TOCOM Gold 3498.00 30.00 +0.87 7.33
1449
TOCOM Platinum 4384.00 31.00 +0.71 0.07
172
TOCOM Silver 56.50 0.50 +0.89 9.28
7
TOCOM Palladium 1501.00 14.00 +0.94 28.84
12
Euro/Dollar 1.2985
Dollar/Yen 85.46
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Nick Trevethan in SINGAPORE; Editing
by Manash Goswami)
