* Dollar hits low for year against euro
* Turkey's gold imports set to hit historic low this year
* Russia mulls sale of 20-50 T of gold
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Rebekah Curtis and Jan Harvey
LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Spot gold rose back towards its
record high at $1,070.40 an ounce on Friday after the dollar's
slide to 14-month lows versus the euro early in the session
helped the metal beat key technical resistance levels.
Gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,066.20 an ounce at 1313 GMT,
versus $1,060.00 late in New York on Thursday, having touched a
high of $1,067.30. At its current level it is up more than 5
percent since the start of October.
"Gold is getting close to the interesting levels we saw last
week," said Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen. "There has been
some technical momentum as we took out some recent highs. The
move above yesterday's high has helped sentiment."
"It is also playing catch-up to the dollar weakness we've
seen this week, which up until today has not really had much
impact on gold prices," he added.
Dollar weakness has boosted investor interest in the metal
as a hedge against the U.S. currency, while also making gold
cheaper for investors holding other currencies. []
Earlier on Friday the dollar -- down more than 7 percent so
far this year -- hit its softest level in 14 months against the
euro <EUR=>, and analysts say more weakness is expected.
"If the dollar continues to weaken in the same manner, I
wouldn't be surprised to see this range of $1,050-1,065 broken
and (gold heading) for the $1,070 area," said Afshin Nabavi,
head of trading at MKS Finance in Geneva.
Oil prices -- strength in which tends to benefit gold, which
is often seen as an inflation hedge -- held above $81 a barrel
on Friday, close to the year-high they hit earlier this week.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were at
$1,066.30 an ounce, up $7.70, after falling $5.90 to $1,058.60
on Thursday.
RUSSIA PLANS GOLD SALE
The Russian government wants to sell to the world market
20-50 tonnes of gold <XAU=> from the state repository Gokhran
until the end of this year, a source familiar with the matter
told Reuters on Friday. []
This bucks the trend for central banks to retain gold as a
portfolio diversifier. According to the World Gold Council, net
sales by central banks in the first half of 2009 were the lowest
since 1997, and they turned net buyers in the second quarter.
The market did not react strongly to the news. "The
government is in need of cash and this is an obvious way to do
that," said Robin Bhar, an analyst at Calyon. "A sale of gold
does seem the most sensible thing to do."
News on gold demand suggested conditions were soft. The SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund,
said its holdings stood at 1,108.094 tonnes on Thursday,
unchanged from the previous day. []
Meanwhile a senior industry official said Turkey's gold
imports will fall by more than two thirds to a historic low of
less than 50 tonnes this year on record bullion prices and an
increase in sales of scrap. []
Among other precious metals silver <XAG=> was the biggest
riser, climbing nearly 1.5 percent to its peak of $17.93, before
settling back to $17.89 against $17.65.
BNP Paribas lifted its fourth-quarter and 2010 silver
forecasts on Friday, citing a revival in economic activity and
gains in gold. The bank lifted its fourth-quarter silver
forecast to $16.50 an ounce from $12.50, and its 2010 forecast
to $15.10 from $12.00.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,367.50 from $1,365 and palladium
<XPD=> was at $336 from $334.
(Editing by Sue Thomas)
