* Fed officials 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
* Coming up: US factory orders, pending home sale due Mon.
(Recasts, adds comments, updates prices to market close,
deletes second byline/dateline)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, 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 $1,316.35 an ounce at 2:16 p.m.
EDT (1816 GMT). U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0>
settled up $8.20 at $1,317.80.
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, or quantitative easing.
"What you are seeing is anticipation of the Fed coming down
with another round of quantitative easing. The question at this
point is what's the size of it. I would look at November,
December for the next phase of monetizing all the debt that we
put out there," said Zachary Oxman, managing director at
TrendMax Futures.
The dollar plunged to a eight-month low against a basket of
major currencies after two Fed policymakers said that more
action would likely be needed unless the outlook improves in
the clearest calls yet by Fed officials to pump more cash into
the economy. []
U.S. data also showed both consumer and construction
spending rose more than expected in August, but investment in
private projects fell to its lowest level in more than 12
years. []
With analysts expecting the U.S. dollar to extend losses to
the end of the year, gold is expected to benefit from demand as
an alternative currency.
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 1.6 percent at $22.04 an ounce. The metal has outperformed
gold this year, rising 30 percent against gold's 20 percent
climb.
The gold-to-silver ratio, which shows how much silver an
ounce of gold can buy, slipped below 60, its weakest level
since January. (Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/huh56p)
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Relative price performance of leading commodities:
http://r.reuters.com/was95p
Gold's performance vs other assets:
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 1.4 percent to $1,674.50 an ounce,
while palladium <XPD=> gained 0.6 percent to $567.50.
Prices at 2:57 p.m. EDT (1857 GMT)
LAST/ NET PCT YTD
CLOSE CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCZ0> 1317.80 8.20 0.6% 20.2%
US silver <SIZ0> 21.688 0.233 0.0% 28.8%
US platinum <PLF1> 1682.10 23.50 1.4% 14.4%
US palladium <PAZ0> 560.30 9.60 1.7% 37.0%
Gold <XAU=> 1316.15 10.90 0.8% 20.0%
Silver <XAG=> 22.05 0.35 1.6% 30.9%
Platinum <XPT=> 1676.50 25.35 1.5% 14.4%
Palladium <XPD=> 570.50 6.57 1.2% 40.7%
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%
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London; Editing by
Marguerita Choy)
