* Gold hits record high at $1,190 an ounce
* U.S. dollar index <.DXY> at 15-month lows
* U.S. stocks boosted by upbeat data ahead of holiday
(Updates with U.S. markets close)
By Daniel Bases and Jennifer Ablan
NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold rose to another record
high on Wednesday, and the dollar dropped to a 15-month low
against a basket of currencies after a batch of U.S. data
indicated the economic recovery was strengthening.
The data showing positive trends in the housing and labor
markets and in consumer spending helped lift U.S. and European
shares while driving government bond markets lower.
The dollar's drop ahead of Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving Day
also reflected the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes released on
Tuesday that voiced increased confidence in the U.S. economic
recovery and Russia's announcement it would diversify some
foreign exchange reserves into Canadian dollars.
[] []
Federal Reserve officials said the recent fall in the
foreign exchange value of the dollar had been "orderly," and
appeared to reflect an unwinding of safe-haven demand,
according to minutes from the U.S. central bank's latest policy
meeting held in early November.
Even so, gold, which is considered a safe-haven in times of
uncertainty, was the standout performer of the day as the weak
dollar supported commodity prices. Gold was also fueled by a
published report that India's central bank was interested in
buying more gold beyond the 200 tonnes it purchased earlier
this month from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF had no
comment.
"Most commodities are rallying on the back of the weaker
dollar, and that move is potentially quite significant," said
Standard Chartered analyst Daniel Smith in London.
"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," he said.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $20.70, or 1.77 percent, to a
record high of $1190.00. Silver was on track to close at a
16-month high, near $18.81 <XAG=>.
The dollar was down against a basket of major
trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY>
down 1.10 percent at 74.241 from a previous session close of
75.068.
The euro <EUR=> was up 1.20 percent at $1.514 from a
previous session close of $1.4960. Against the Japanese yen,
the dollar <JPY=> was down 1.40 percent at 87.32 from a
previous session close of 88.560.
Dubai's government helped put the brakes on the dollar's
slide after it said it will ask creditors of its two flagship
firms for a standstill on debt worth billions of dollars as a
first step toward restructuring Dubai World, a conglomerate
that spearheaded the emirates' breakneck growth.
"The Dubai news was a surprise and helped halt the rally in
the euro against the dollar as traders took some of their risky
assets off the table," said Steven Butler, director of FX
trading at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
U.S. stocks rose modestly in very light trade ahead of the
Thanksgiving holiday, supported by the data showing the
recovery gaining traction and as natural resource shares gained
with the weak dollar. For details, see []
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 30.69
points, or 0.29 percent, at 10,464.40, while the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 4.98 points, or 0.45 percent, at
1,110.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 6.87
points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,176.05.
MSCI's all-country world equities index <.MIWD00000PUS>
rose nearly 1 percent, while European shares <> added 0.5
percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index <> gained 0.4 percent,
pulling back from a four-month low hit earlier in the session
after the index did not break below its 200-day moving average.
MSCI's emerging markets stock index rose 0.7 percent
<.MSCIEF>.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> increased 2.41 percent to
$77.85 per barrel.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries <US10YT=RR> rose 11/32 of
a point in price, moving the yield to 3.26 percent, after a
strong auction of $32 billion of seven-year notes, while the
30-year U.S. Treasury bond <US30YT=RR> was up 10/32, with the
yield at 4.2279 percent.
It was a different story at the short end of the Treasury
yield curve. The two-year U.S. Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was
down 1/32, but with its yield at only 0.7382 percent.
(Additional reporting by Reuters correspondents worldwide;
editing by Leslie Adler
((daniel.bases@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6131; Reuters
Messaging: daniel.bases.reuters.com@reuters.net))
