* Gold rallies to record high as weak dollar fuels buying
* Technical momentum intact after correction late last week
* Gold at historic highs in yen, sterling; near euro record
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Gold hit a record high at
$1,170.55 an ounce on Monday as dollar weakness pushed the metal
through key technical resistance levels, fuelling momentum
buying after the metal's sharp run higher earlier this month.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,168.90 an ounce at 1418 GMT,
against $1,148.20 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures
for December delivery <GCZ9> on the COMEX division of the New
York Mercantile Exchange rose $22.50 to $1,169.30 an ounce.
"Gold has a lot of momentum. It is trading off the back of
the dollar, and at the moment it seems to be outperforming that
trade, as are a lot of other commodities," said Daniel Major, an
analyst at RBS Global Banking & Markets.
The precious metal has rallied to a series of record highs
since news that India bought 200 tonnes of gold from the IMF
broke in early November. Since then a number of other central
banks have announced they too are buying gold.
"The main supportive factor outside of the dollar has been
various actions by central banks -- obviously the buying by
India, and since then there has been Russia, and Mauritius,"
said Major.
The dollar fell broadly on Monday, sliding nearly 1 percent
against a basket of six other currencies, after dovish comments
from a U.S. Federal Reserve official reinforced the view that
U.S. interest rates will stay low for an extended period. []
Weakness in the U.S. unit boosts gold's appeal as an
alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper
for holders of other currencies.
Oil rose more than 2 percent to above $79 a barrel. Strong
oil prices raise the metal's appeal as an inflation hedge. For a
graphic on gold, oil and dollar's performance, click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/119/MKT_GLD$OIL1109.gif
NON-DOLLAR GOLD
Gold priced in currencies other than the dollar were also
reaching historic highs on Monday, with gold priced in euros
<XAUEUR=R> rising to a nine-month peak of 780.21 euros an ounce,
within 15 euros of a record high.
Sterling-priced gold <XAUGBP=R> reached a record high of
704.78 pounds an ounce, while gold denominated in Japanese yen
<XAUJPY=R> rose to a historic peak of 103,788 yen an ounce,
according to Reuters data going back to 1987.
Elsewhere, options traders are betting gold will hit $1,200
an ounce or higher by early next year. Strong options interest
could in turn lift underlying prices further into uncharted
territory. []
On the physical side of the market, Indian gold buying
cooled after picking up slightly last week as prices hit record
highs and the flow of scrap eased, dealers said. []
Gold's gains lifted other precious metals, with platinum
hitting its highest since September 2008 at $1,472.50, and
silver its strongest since July 2008 at $18.88 an ounce.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was later at $1,467.50 an ounce against
$1,441, while palladium <XPD=> was at $368.50 against $361. Spot
silver <XAG=> was bid at $18.80 an ounce against $18.46.
ETF Securities said holdings of its platinum- and
palladium-backed exchange-traded commodities rose to record
highs on Friday.
However, both ETF Securities and Zurich Cantonal Bank said
the holdings of their gold-backed exchange-traded products
dipped last week. [] []
For a timeline on gold's rise to record, click
[]
For a factbox on how to invest in gold, click on
[]
(Additional reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; editing by Keiron
Henderson)
((jan.harvey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7744; Reuters
Messaging: jan.harvey.reuters.com@reuters.net))
