* Euro rises through $1.50 to 15-month high vs dollar
* India's central bank may consider more gold buys -report
* Silver ETF holdings hit record in London, New York
(Updates prices, adds IMF no comment on gold sales)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices hit record highs
above $1,180 an ounce in Europe on Wednesday, boosted by the
euro's move through $1.50 against the dollar and by a report
that India may consider buying more bullion from the IMF.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a high of $1,182.70 an ounce and was
bid at $1,179.90 an ounce at 1536 GMT, against $1,168.90 late in
New York on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange also hit a record
$1,183.20 an ounce and were later up $14.40 at $1,180.20.
The dollar fell to a 15-month low against the euro due to
views that U.S. rates would stay low and as Russia said it would
diversify currency reserves, though it pared losses after a
mixed batch of U.S. data. []
Meanwhile India's Financial Chronicle newspaper said on
Wednesday that India is open to buying more gold from the
International Monetary Fund, which has around another 200 tonnes
to sell. The IMF said it had no comment to make on the report.
[]
Standard Chartered analyst Daniel Smith said further Indian
buying could be "potentially very bullish" for gold.
"Most commodities are rallying on the back of the weaker
dollar, and that move is potentially quite significant," he
said. "Gold has been outperforming on the back of this general
rally in commodities, and that tells us that there is more to
this than just the dollar story."
"My feeling is that we are going to keep going higher for
the time being," he added.
The market is sensitive to speculation of further official
sector buying after news in early November, that India's central
bank had bought 200 tonnes of gold from the IMF, sparked a
rally.
Russia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius have since also announced
gold acquisitions, and traders speculate that more central
banks, particularly in Asia, could be open to gold acquisitions
to diversify their foreign exchange reserves.
DIVERSIFICATION
"We have had relatively supportive news from the central
banks, particularly in Asia, confirming that there is demand for
gold as a means of diversifying their large foreign exchange
reserves," RBS Global Banking & Markets analyst Daniel Major
said.
"There is plenty more potential for central banks to buy
either IMF gold or other gold in the market to try and boost
their reserves," he added.
Expectations for further reserve diversification, as well as
prospects for further dollar weakness and fears over inflation
in 2010 have all fuelled investment demand for the precious
metal, and could lead to further sharp prices gains.
"Central bank and other investor demand could see gold move
to $1,500/oz in the next 3-6 months," Fairfax said in a note.
Dollar weakness helped lift other commodities, with oil
prices ticking up half a percent in early trade and industrial
metals prices climbing. [] []
Elsewhere, holdings of the world's largest gold
exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, rose nearly 1
tonne on Tuesday to their highest since late June. []
Indian gold traders meanwhile continued to stock up for
weddings in anticipation of a further price rise, but the flow
of scrap sales eased. []
Silver <XAG=> was bid at $18.63 an ounce versus $18.49.
Holdings of the world's main silver ETF rose 136 tonnes to a
record 9,252 tonnes on Tuesday, while ETF Securities' silver
exchange-traded product also hit record levels. []
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,466 an ounce against $1,444.50,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $369.70 against $366.35. Holdings
of ETF Securities' palladium-backed ETP rose to a record 620,359
ounces on Tuesday, and are up 11 percent month-on-month.
(Editing by Anthony Barker)
((jan.harvey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7744; Reuters
Messaging: jan.harvey.reuters.com@reuters.net))
