* Gold underpinned by expectations for more official buying
* U.S. holiday may make players cautious
* SPDR Gold holdings inch up 0.5 pct
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Gold hit a record high above
$1,192 on Thursday as sentiment remained solid on expectations
of more central bank buying of bullion and further dollar
weakness.
Gold prices have risen nearly 15 percent since the
beginning of November, with demand fuelled by expectations of
further reserve diversification, prospects for a sickly U.S.
currency and fears about inflation in 2010.
The market is highly sensitive to speculation of more
bullion buying by central banks looking to diversify foreign
exchange reserves, particularly in Asia, after a newspaper
report that India is open to buying as much as another 203.3
tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF
had no comment on the report. []
Late on Wednesday, the IMF said it had sold 10 tons of gold
to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, a part of 403.3 tons of sales
approved by the fund's executive board in September. The fund
has already sold 202 tons of gold to the Reserve Bank of India
and the Bank of Mauritius. []
"People seem to be sidelined with the United States on
holiday, but sentiment is underpinned by speculation about
central bank buying of gold, with many believing India will buy
more from the IMF," said Yuichi Ikemizu, Tokyo branch manager
for Standard Bank.
"And the dollar's weakness is also supportive," he said.
He said he did not expect strong follow-through buying, as
players were likely to become cautious and be sidelined with
the U.S. on holiday.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a fresh record high of $1,194.55, up
from New York's notional close of $1,190.30.
U.S. December gold futures <GCZ9> also rose to a fresh high
of $1,194.50 per ounce. Futures settled up $21.20, or 1.8
percent, at $1,187.00 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New
York Mercantile Exchange.
U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for the
Thanksgiving holiday.
The dollar remained pressured on Thursday after touching a
10-month low against the yen and fell to a more than 15-month
low against a basket of six major currencies the previous day.
Data suggesting stabilisation in the U.S. labour and housing
markets helped boost U.S. stock prices and risk appetite in
general, denting safe-haven demand for the dollar. []
U.S. stocks rose in light trading volume on Wednesday,
supported by data that pointed to stabilisation in the labour
and housing markets, areas that have fed concerns about a
"double dip" return to recession. []
With many market players expecting gold's bull run to
continue, investment in gold increased.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,127.860 tonnes
as of Nov. 25, up 5.489 tonnes, or 0.5 percent, from the
previous day and just shy of a record 1,134.03 tonnes hit on
June 1. []
Precious metals prices at 0138 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1194.00 3.70 +0.31 35.66
Spot Silver 18.84 0.02 +0.11 66.43
Spot Platinum 1476.00 3.00 +0.20 58.37
Spot Palladium 372.00 2.00 +0.54 101.63
TOCOM Gold 3368.00 10.00 +0.30 30.90
40186
TOCOM Platinum 4158.00 -8.00 -0.19 56.79
7605
TOCOM Silver 532.00 0.20 +0.04 66.61
142
TOCOM Palladium 1053.00 -8.00 -0.75 91.45
64
Euro/Dollar 1.5114
Dollar/Yen 87.41
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
((chikako.mogi@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3 6441 1871; Reuters
Messaging: chikako.mogi.reuters.com@reuter s.net))
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