(Adds quotes, details)
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, May 22 (Reuters) - Gold climbed back above $930 on
Thursday as oil set a new record high, fanning fears of inflation
and encouraging investors to buy the precious metal as a hedge,
while a weak dollar added to the upward momentum.
Crude oil, which topped $135 per barrel for the first time on
Thursday in yet another rise to a historic high, has been the
dominating force fueling gold's latest rally.
"We're seeing a shift as investors move their assets from
financial instruments to commodities," said Koji Suzuki, a senior
manager at SBI Futures Co Ltd.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $930.55/931.55 an ounce at 0438 GMT,
up from late New York levels of $928.55/929.75.
It earlier rose as high as $935.30, the highest level since
April 18.
Suzuki said a sense of caution might be slowing gold's rise.
"In the short term, I think some investors may be wary given
the way oil has jumped," Suzuki said.
Gold's nearby resistance was seen at $935-$940.
The price of U.S. crude oil has surged more than 20 percent
since the beginning of the month on supply concerns among other
factors.
The front-month July NYMEX crude contract <CLc1> rose to a
record high of $135.04 on the Globex electronic trading platform,
up 1.4 percent from the New York settlement.
It has since drifted down to trade around $134.60.
The dollar declined against key currencies, making it cheaper
for overseas investors to buy gold, thereby adding lustre to the
yellow metal's appeal as an investment.
The euro rose as far as $1.5802 <EUR=> on electronic trading
platform EBS, its highest since April and closing in on a record
peak above $1.60 hit last month. The dollar dipped to a one-week
low of about 102.78 yen <JPY=>.
Gold futures for June delivery <GCM8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $2.1 to $930.7 an ounce
in electronic trading.
Benchmark April gold <0#JAU:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange
was up 20 yen a gram at 3,110 yen.
In industry news, China, already the world's top gold
producer, could become an even bigger force with the expected
discovery of several large deposits in the next five years, a
leading explorer said on Wednesday. []
The rally has rubbed off on other precious metals,
particularly platinum, which appears set to touch new record
highs due to supply tightness.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to around $2,204 an ounce, up from
late New York levels of $2,187/2,207, and inching up towards the
record of $2,290 marked on March 4.
Precious metals refiner Johnson Matthey <JMAT.L> said this
week that the metal, used in jewelry and auto catalysts, could
spike to a record high of $2,500 this year due to fears of a
supply deficit.
It hit a record high of $2,290 on March 4 after a power
crisis in main producer South Africa disrupted mining.
Spot silver <XAG=> climbed to $18.07/18.12 an ounce versus
$17.95/18.03 in late New York, while spot palladium <XPD=> was at
$453.50/461.50, compared with $454/462.
Precious metals prices at 0424 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 931.20 -0.15 -0.02 11.83
Spot Silver 18.04 0.10 +0.56 22.14
Spot Platinum 2209.00 18.50 +0.84 45.33
Spot Palladium 453.50 -1.00 -0.22 23.23
TOCOM Gold 3110.00 20.00 +0.65 1.63 33007
TOCOM Platinum 7119.00 101.00 +1.44 33.34 18548
TOCOM Silver 604.70 10.10 +1.70 11.77 1068
TOCOM Palladium 1546.00 30.00 +1.98 14.43 1089
Euro/Dollar 1.5768
Dollar/Yen 103.00
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams, Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
