* Will the market see more QE from Fed?
* Silver marks fresh peak, approaches $21 an ounce
* Analysts eye $1,300, $1,350 as upside targets
(adds comment, updates prices)
By Pratima Desai
LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Gold scored a record high above
$1,275 per ounce on Thursday, as currency market jitters and
broader economic uncertainty enticed more investors towards the
metal's safe-haven credentials.
Strong investment demand also pushed spot silver <XAG=>,
often seen as a cheap proxy for gold, to $20.75 an ounce -- its
highest since March 2008.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,273.50 a troy ounce at 1315
GMT compared with $1,265.65 an ounce at the close on Wednesday.
Earlier on Thursday it hit a record $1,277.70 an ounce. U.S.
December gold futures also rose to a historic high <GCZ0>.
The dollar eased against a basket of major currencies
<.DXY>, bolstering the case for bullion, with currency markets
struggling to settle after Japan's huge intervention to weaken
the yen a day earlier. World stocks slipped. <MKTS/GLOB>
"It's an insurance policy at the end of the day," said Robin
Bhar, analyst at Credit Agricole. "All the ingredients are still
there -- all the uncertainty and fear -- to keep gold
underpinned."
Analysts and traders are looking to $1,300 an ounce as a
major psychological marker, with $1,350 seen as the next
potential target.
"Gold rising to $1,300/oz looks increasingly likely and we
are only 2 percent below that level now. Once $1,300/oz is
breached, gold could experience a pullback and consolidation,"
Goldcore said in a note to clients.
QE11 EYED
One potential trigger for further gains could be the
conclusion of a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Sept. 21,
when the central bank could announce further quantitative easing
to stave off economic slowdown in the world's largest economy.
"If the Fed says next week it is going to do more
quantitative easing...the inflation bugs will have a field day,"
said David Thurtell, analyst at Citi, who thinks gold could see
the $1,300 level next week.
Quantitative easing is normally a process by which central
banks attempt to pump money into the economy by buying bonds.
Excess liquidity could lead to too much money chasing too few
goods or services -- resulting in price pressures.
Also on the agenda is the U.S. fiscal outlook with the start
of the new financial year in the United States.
INVESTMENT
Investor interest can be seen in the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>,
which said its holdings fell to 1,294.746 tonnes by Sept. 15
from 1,298.698 tonnes on Sept. 14. []
But the fall follows a six-tonne rise the previous day.
Positive macro data is also partly behind the run higher in
industrial precious metals such as silver <XAG=>, platinum
<XPT=> and palladium <XPD=>. Spot silver was bid at $20.74 an
ounce from $20.49 late on Wednesday.
Spot platinum was bid at $1,602.50 an ounce from $1,604.50
late on Wednesday in New York when it touched a four-month high
of $1,619.50. Palladium was little changed at $553.00 at
$553.78.
On the mining front, South Africa's National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) said on Thursday that workers at Northam
Platinum <NHMJ.J> had rejected the company's 8.5 percent revised
wage offer and will continue with their strike action.
(Additional reporting by Veronica Brown; editing by Sue Thomas)
