(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 3 (Reuters) - Gold edged closer to the
$1,000 an ounce mark on Monday, setting a record high for the
fourth straight day after the dollar tumbled and crude oil held
near an all-time high.
Gold has gained more than 17 percent in 2008 as investors
shift some of their money into the precious metal on
expectations of more interest rate cuts in the United States,
volatile stock markets and fears of rising energy costs.
Gold <XAU=> jumped as high as $980.75 an ounce, partly
driven by purchases from Japanese speculators who took
advantage of the dollar's drop to a three-year low against the
yen. Gold was last quoted at $973.30/973.75 in New York on
Friday.
"Everybody talks about $1,000. There's Japanese buying.
It's cheaper for them to buy," said Ronald Leung, director of
Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong, adding that investors may
also book profits when gold eventually hit $1,000.
"We could see some selling but I don't think it will be
aggressive. I don't know what the resistance level is but we
can say $970 and $965 will be the support levels," he said.
Gold's inflation-adjusted record high was $2,119 an ounce
at 2007 prices, according to analysts at metals consultancy
GFMS Ltd.
Silver, platinum and palladium also firmed but held below
their recent highs, while a firming yen ignited selling in
yen-denominated Japanese precious metals futures.
The dollar extended falls on Monday and tumbled to a record
low against a basket of currencies as worries about the health
of U.S. financial firms and fears of a U.S. recession stoked
expectations of aggressive rate cuts. []
Lower interest rates lift gold's appeal as an alternative
investment.
"Sentiment is clearly bullish with weakness of the dollar
prompting buying," said Tatsuo Kageyama, an analyst at Kanetsu
Asset Management in Tokyo.
"Gold has more room to rise considering that its pace of
rise has been slower relative to other commodities."
Crude oil <CLc1> held steady near $102 a barrel, supported
by a falling U.S. dollar and expectations that OPEC would leave
its output unchanged. []
Silver <XAG=> edged up to $19.84/19.89 an ounce from
$19.80/19.85 an ounce, having reached a 27-year peak of $19.92
an ounce on Friday.
Spot platinum <XPT=> dipped to $2,160/2,167 from
$2,163/2,170 ounce late in New York. It hit a record of $2,192
an ounce on Feb. 22 as problems with power supply disrupted
mining in main producer South Africa.
A South African minister said on Friday the country's
mining industry would get priority under measures aimed at
cutting electricity use to solve a power crisis. []
Palladium <XPD=> rose to $572/577 an ounce from $563/568 an
ounce late in New York -- within sight of last week's
6-1/2-year high of $582 an ounce.
The most active February 2009 contract <0#JPL:> on the
Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the morning session 71 yen per
gram lower at 6,980 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0032 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 980.20 6.50 +0.67 17.71
Spot Silver 19.84 0.04 +0.20 34.33
Spot Platinum 2160.00 9.00 +0.42 42.11
Spot Palladium 572.00 9.00 +1.60 55.43
TOCOM Gold 3275.00 -16.00 -0.49 7.03
33932
TOCOM Platinum 6980.00 -71.00 -1.01 30.74
10907
TOCOM Silver 664.80 -8.70 -1.29 22.88
611
TOCOM Palladium 1979.00 -32.00 -1.59 46.48
8337
Euro/Dollar 1.5197
Dollar/Yen 103.05
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Chikafumi Hodo in Tokyo)
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
