* Spot silver rises to $46.64, 4 cents off 31-year high
* Gold seen to consolidate around $1,500 level
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, April 22 (Reuters) - Spot gold held steady on
Friday in holiday-thinned trade, after hitting record highs in
five consecutive sessions, supported by a weak dollar and a list
of other supporting factors, including geopolitical
uncertainties and inflation concerns.
The dollar index , a measure of the greenback's
strength against a basket of currencies, dipped to a near
three-year low, as record low interest rates and the crushing
weight of the U.S. budget deficit pushed it closer to an
all-time trough.
Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,504.99 ounce by
0238 GMT, off its record high of $1,508.75 hit on Thursday. It
was poised to score its sixth consecutive week of gains.
"Gold is likely to consolidate around $1,500 level next
week," said Li Ning, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures. "The
angle of the recent rally is very sharp, and we are bound to see
some correction in the near term."
Spot gold rallied over $50, or nearly 4 percent, in the past
seven sessions. The Relative Strength Index, or RSI, rose to
nearly 74, a level unseen since October last year, suggesting
the market has been heavily overbought.
Li said gold still has more steam to run on and expected
prices to peak at $1,550 by the end of the second quarter, on
the ongoing Middle East unrest, sovereign debt concerns on both
sides of the Atlantic and inflation worries.
Concerns on rising global inflation will likely drive gold
even higher in the next few years, albeit in a slower pace,
analysts polled by Reuters said.
The Shanghai Gold Exchange has started a trial for
over-the-counter trading, providing a convenient tool for
institutional clients to trade large quantities of gold.
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Spot silver rose to as high as $46.64, just 4 cents
off the 31-year high. It was trading at $46.46, up 51 percent so
far this year, outstripping gold's 6 percent rise.
Holdings in the physically backed exchange-traded precious
metals funds dipped ahead of the long Easter weekend. SPDR Gold
Trust , the world's biggest gold ETF, saw holdings dip 0.6
tonnes to 1,229.643 tonnes.
Singapore and Hong Kong markets are closed on Friday for a
public holiday, while Hong Kong will remain closed on Monday.
Precious metals prices 0238 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1504.99 2.25 +0.15 6.03
Spot Silver 46.46 -0.10 -0.21 50.55
Spot Platinum 1813.49 2.69 +0.15 2.60
Spot Palladium 763.99 -1.49 -0.19 -4.44
TOCOM Gold 3968.00 -14.00 -0.35 6.41 21682
TOCOM Platinum 4814.00 19.00 +0.40 2.51 3906
TOCOM Silver 122.50 1.70 +1.41 51.23 2458
TOCOM Palladium 2025.00 6.00 +0.30 -3.43 123
COMEX GOLD JUN1 1503.80 4.90 +0.33 5.80 112875
COMEX SILVER MAY1 46.06 1.60 +3.59 48.87 134963
Euro/Dollar 1.4552
Dollar/Yen 81.83
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
