* Gold benefits from market talk of more QE from Fed
* Silver marks fresh peak, approaches $21 an ounce
* Silver outperforms gold, gold/silver ratio drops
(Recasts, updates prices, adds comment, second
byline/dateline)
By Frank Tang and Pratima Desai
NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Gold swept to all-time
highs on Thursday for the second time this week, as currency
market jitters and broader economic uncertainty attracted more
investors to the metal's safe-haven credentials.
Strong investment demand pushed spot silver <XAG=>, often
dubbed the poor man's gold, to just below $21 an ounce -- its
loftiest level since March 2008. COMEX open interest surged to
its highest since early 2008, before the economic crisis.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,275 an ounce at 12:03 p.m. EDT
(1603 GMT), having set another record high at $1,277.70 in
earlier trade. It closed at $1,265.65 an ounce on Wednesday.
"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."
Still, gold was sharply below its inflation-adjusted
all-time high of $2,213 an ounce, precious metals consultant
GFMS said.
The dollar fell against a basket of currencies <.DXY>,
bolstering bullion's appeal as an alternative currency.
Foreign-exchange markets were struggling to settle after Japan
intervened to weaken the yen a day earlier. World stocks
slipped. <MKTS/GLOB>
Analysts and traders are looking to $1,300 an ounce as a
psychological marker for gold.
"I'm quite surprised we are here really, gold seems to be
playing follow the leader with silver ... and the dollar's
weakness," Simon Weeks, head of precious metals at Scotia
Mocatta, said.
Since Aug. 24, silver has rallied nearly 18 percent,
outperforming gold's 10 percent rise over the same period,
Reuters data showed.
The gold-to-silver ratio -- which shows how much silver an
ounce of gold can buy -- fell to just above 60, its lowest
since January.
QEII EYED
A potential trigger for further gains could come from the
U.S. Federal Reserve, which meets on Sept. 21 and could
announce further quantitative easing (QE) 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.
QE 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 upward price pressures.
HSBC's chief commodity analyst James Steel said gold
rallied significantly in late 2008 when the Fed turned to
unconventional economic stimulus, and market talk of further QE
has accompanied gold's largest rally this year.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>, 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 macroeconomic data is partly behind the run higher
in industrial precious metals such as silver <XAG=>, platinum
<XPT=> and palladium <XPD=>. Spot silver was at $20.74 an ounce
from $20.49 late on Wednesday.
Spot platinum was at $1,610.50 an ounce from $1,604.50 in
New York late on Wednesday, and palladium was at $549 versus
the previous session's finish at $553.78.
Prices at 12:26 p.m. EDT (1626 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCZ0> 1276.10 7.40 0.6% 16.4%
US silver <SIZ0> 20.770 0.199 1.0% 23.3%
US platinum <PLV0> 1612.00 6.70 0.4% 9.6%
US palladium <PAZ0> 551.20 -8.40 -1.5% 34.8%
Gold <XAU=> 1274.50 8.85 0.7% 16.3%
Silver <XAG=> 20.74 0.25 1.2% 23.2%
Platinum <XPT=> 1607.50 3.00 0.2% 9.7%
Palladium <XPD=> 549.00 -4.78 -0.9% 35.4%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1272.50 1.25 0.1% 15.3%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 20.76 32.00 1.6% 22.2%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1602.00 7.00 0.4% 9.3%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 554.00 3.00 0.5% 37.8%
(Additional reporting by Veronica Brown in London; Editing by
Dale Hudson)
