(Updates prices, adds activity in physical side)
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.
Silver jumped to $20 an ounce for the first time since
November 1980 to track gold. Platinum and palladium held near
their recent highs, while a firming yen ignited selling in
yen-denominated Japanese precious metals futures.
Gold <XAU=> jumped as high as $983.90 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.
Gold has gained around 18 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.
"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.
In the physical sector, dealers saw a surge in demand for
gold bars from investors in Vietnam but holders in Indonesia
and Thailand cashed in their bullion. Gold's rise scared off
jewellers in Hong Kong.
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. []
"Demand from Vietnam is very good. I guess they are buying
gold bars for investment and also a hedge against inflation.
They are quite bullish on the market," said a dealer in
Singapore.
A dealer in Hong Kong said: "I don't think there's physical
buying here. The market is driven by funds and speculators."
Silver <XAG=> rose as high as $20 an ounce, up from
$19.80/19.85 an ounce late in New York.
Spot platinum <XPT=> firmed to $2,168/2,175 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 $578/583 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 fell 30 yen per gram lower to 7,021
yen.
Precious metals prices at 0510 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 983.00 9.30 +0.96 18.05
Spot Silver 19.99 0.19 +0.96 35.34
Spot Platinum 2170.00 19.00 +0.88 42.76
Spot Palladium 578.00 15.00 +2.66 57.07
TOCOM Gold 3291.00 0.00 +0.00 7.55
52627
TOCOM Platinum 7034.00 -17.00 -0.24 31.75
19316
TOCOM Silver 670.60 -2.90 -0.43 23.96
948
TOCOM Palladium 2007.00 -4.00 -0.20 48.56
12707
Euro/Dollar 1.5210
Dollar/Yen 103.28
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 Ben Tan)
