* Gold eyes $1,300/oz after Fed inspires rally
* Silver climbs to 30-year peak on gold's coat-tails
* Dollar weakness seen leading to further gains
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Gold rallied to record highs in
Europe on Friday, with spot prices knocking on the door of
$1,300 an ounce, as expectations grew that further quantitative
easing may lead to increased volatility in the currency markets.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit an all-time high of $1,299.95 an ounce
and was bid at $1,298.30 an ounce at 1416 GMT, against $1,293.50
late in New York on Thursday.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> hit a record
$1,301.60 an ounce and were later at $1,299.60 an ounce, up
$3.30. Silver also reached its strongest in 30 years at $21.45
an ounce, tracking gains in gold.
Spot gold prices are struggling to take out resistance at
the $1,300 an ounce level, but remain firmly underpinned by
expectations of further weakness in the dollar, which slipped 1
percent versus the euro on Friday. []
"With the dollar getting definitely weaker with the pass of
every session, gold has little work to do other than to head
higher to compensate for dollar's slide," said Pradeep Unni,
senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services.
"Most of the market focus has been the extreme dollar
weakness and possible impact on the currency as the market
encounters weaker economic data."
Gold has risen more than 4 percent so far this month and
hit record highs for five consecutive sessions to Wednesday,
extending gains after the Federal Reserve indicated it may
consider further quantitative easing, undermining the dollar.
The move came at a time when a number of major economies
were moving to curb strength in their currencies in an attempt
to bolster growth, boosting gold's appeal as an alternative
investment.
"The U.S. Fed is obviously contemplating, and the market is
expecting, some kind of statement on quantitative easing," said
Deutsche Bank analyst Daniel Brebner. "The influx of new money
in the system raises longer term expectations for inflationary
forces."
"If you look at peripheral Europe, you have sovereign risks
which have been increasing for both Ireland and Portugal. There
is a likelihood that there will be some kind of move by the
European Central Bank to resolve that challenge."
These two factors, and the likelihood that the dollar value
will continue to erode, mean there is potential for higher
prices, he added. "We could see some significant moves in gold
and silver over the next quarter."
SILVER HITS HIGHEST SINCE 1980
From a technical perspective, gold is poised for further
gains after an 18 percent rally so far this year. Reuters'
technical analyst Wang Tao said the metal could reach $1,539 an
ounce by the end of the year, based on technical indicators.
[]
Silver prices are also well positioned after breaking
through technical resistance at $21.20 and $21.35 to rally to
their highest since 1980. It was later at $21.34 an ounce
against $21.14.
The metal has seen strong investor interest as gold has
rallied, with holdings of the world's largest silver-backed
exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, rising to
an all-time high of 9,582.59 tonnes on Thursday. []
"A sizeable factor underlying the current performance of the
precious metals sector as a whole arrives from portfolio
managers who, in an effort to erode less impressive market
returns earlier in the year, are putting money to work in gold,
but also silver, platinum and palladium," UBS analyst Edel Tully
said in a note.
"While gold's investor audience continues to evolve, the
rest of the precious metals have been on the receiving end of
'new' interest over the past two months."
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,642.75 an ounce against $1,638.10,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $561 against $550.95.
(Editing by Sue Thomas)
