* Fed's Dudley comment, US economic data point to easing
* Gold benefits as dollar hits 6-month low vs euro
* Silver hits 30-yr peak, platinum at 4-1/2 month high
(Recasts, adds comments, updates prices, adds second
byline/dateline)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Gold extended its
record-breaking rally to a sixth straight day on Friday, rising
near 1 percent as comments from Federal Reserve officials and
U.S. data reinforced expectations of further monetary easing.
The dollar fell to a six-month low versus the euro after
New York Fed President William Dudley said more Fed action to
boost growth will likely be needed if the economic outlook
doesn't improve; data showing U.S. manufacturing growth slowed
and inflation remained subdued in August aided the case for
more monetary policy easing. []
The rally carried over to the other more volatile precious
metals that outpaced gold's gains, with silver rising nearly 2
percent to its highest since 1980 and platinum to a four-month
peak.
Spot gold <XAU=> scaled an all-time high of $1,320.80 an
ounce and was up 0.8 percent $1,316 an ounce at 12:30 p.m. EDT
(1630 GMT). U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> rose
$7.70 to $1,317.30.
Bullion was 1.5 percent higher for the week, posting its
biggest three-week rally since mid-May.
Gold rose 6 percent in the third quarter, its eighth
consecutive quarterly gain, with dealers saying the two-year
rally looked resilient on the growing belief that the Fed will
decide next month to pump billions of dollars into the economy
through buying government debt, quantitative easing.
"Gold's driven by fears of dollar depreciation. When
investors see currencies around the world are in turmoil, their
immediate reaction is to buy something like gold as a hedge
against currency upheavals," said George Gero, vice president
of RBC Capital Markets Global Futures.
The dollar plunged to a eight-month low against a basket of
major currencies on Friday after Fed's Dudley said U.S. growth
has been generally disappointing, which leaves the door open
for further economic stimulus by the U.S. central bank. []
With analysts expecting the U.S. dollar extending losses to
the end of the year, gold is expected to benefit from demand as
an alternative currency.
"The U.S. dollar continued to come under pressure over
concerns that the Federal Reserve is poised to fire the
starting gun on further asset purchases," said CMC Markets
analyst Michael Hewson.
"Early indications suggest that these U.S. dollar declines
look set to continue for now as we head into a new month, and
the final quarter of 2010, as the U.S. dollar index heads back
towards levels last seen in January this year."
The prospect prompted investors to buy bullion as a hedge
against the possibility of a double-dip recession or
inflation.
GOLD EYES $1,500 IN 3 MONTHS?
Gold looks poised to test above $1,500 an ounce over the
next three months, supported by bullish wave pattern and a
Fibonacci projection analysis, a Reuters technical analyst
said. []
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, dipped however by just
under 1 tonne to 1,304.776 tonnes. []
Silver <XAG=> hit a 30-year high at $22.15 and was trading
up 1.5 percent at $22.02 an ounce. The metal has outperformed
gold this year, rising 30 percent against gold's 20 percent
climb.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a graphic showing the relative price performance of
leading commodities, click on: http://r.reuters.com/was95p
For a graphic showing its performance vs other assets,
click on: http://r.reuters.com/cek95p
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
However, UBS analyst Edel Tully said in a note that silver
may be more vulnerable to a near-term correction than gold.
"Much of silver's move having been technically driven...A
pullback would be particularly unsurprising because silver is
notoriously volatile, its price regression typically being a
lot more violent than gold's."
Gold's strength lifted platinum <XPT=> to a 4-1/2 month
peak at $1,684.50. It rose 1.5 percent to $1,675.50 an ounce,
while palladium <XPD=> gained 1.5 percent to $572.50.
Prices at 12:53 p.m. EDT (1653 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCZ0> 1316.60 7.00 0.5% 20.1%
US silver <SIZ0> 22.070 0.249 1.1% 31.0%
US platinum <PLF1> 1680.90 22.30 1.3% 14.3%
US palladium <PAZ0> 574.50 3.25 0.6% 40.5%
Gold <XAU=> 1314.75 9.50 0.7% 19.9%
Silver <XAG=> 22.05 0.35 1.6% 30.9%
Platinum <XPT=> 1676.00 24.85 1.5% 14.4%
Palladium <XPD=> 572.50 8.57 1.5% 41.2%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1316.25 3.25 0.2% 19.2%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 21.95 -12.00 -0.5% 29.2%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1679.00 10.00 0.6% 14.5%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 571.00 1.00 0.2% 42.0%
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
