* Spot gold rises to record of $1,517.71/oz
* US silver futures hit 31-year high at $49.82/oz
* Coming up: U.S. NAHB housing market index; 1400 GMT
(Writes through; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, April 25 (Reuters) - Spot silver surged more than
5 percent to top $49 ounce on Monday, moving closer to its 1980
all-time peak lifted by a weak dollar and strong physical demand
in Asia that also sent gold to a record high for a seventh
consecutive session.
Spot silver <XAG=> was heading for its biggest daily gain in
five months, hitting a 31-year high of $49.31 an ounce. It was
trading at $49.07 as of 0945 GMT.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a record high of $1,518.10 an ounce,
before easing to $1,517.05. U.S. gold futures <GCcv1> hit an
all-time high at $1,518.6.
"Everyone is buying," said a Hong Kong-based dealer. "There
is stop-loss buying, as well as a good buying interest from
China."
U.S. silver futures <SIcv1> jumped 8.2 percent to $49.82 an
ounce in unusually large trading volume, just about 50 cents off
its all-time peak of $50.35 hit on Jan. 18, 1980. They stood at
$49.11 as of 0942 GMT.
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Technical view on silver []
TIMELINE-A brief history of silver []
ANALYSTS VIEW-Silver's bull run seen to continue
[]
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Silver prices have climbed nearly 60 percent this year,
after jumping more than 80 percent in 2010.
That has outpaced gold's 7 percent rise and a 10-percent
gain in the 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB> and
drawn investors big and small to silver.
Holdings in the largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund,
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, have risen by 2.4 percent this year,
while holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's top gold ETF,
have declined by 4 percent.
Buying interest in physical silver has also jumped in India,
where gold is traditionally favoured.
"The rally has been great as traders are buying silver like
mad," said an official at a private bank in India.
"We normally don't import silver on a regular basis, but we
imported about 10 tonnes from last month. Investors are joining
in the rally in India to catch on the price appreciation."
"It's the dollar play," said a dealer based in Singapore.
The dollar index <.DXY> languished around its three-year low
on Monday, with investors expecting further weakness as the
upcoming Federal Reserves' policy-setting meeting is likely to
announce the continuation of low interest rates. []
The escalated violence in Syria and Yemen over the weekend
also helped lift gold, seen as a safe haven during time of
turmoil. []
Precious metals prices 0616 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Volume
Spot Gold 1515.65 12.10 +0.80 6.78
Spot Silver 48.79 2.12 +4.54 58.10
Spot Platinum 1827.24 16.44 +0.91 3.38
Spot Palladium 768.78 3.30 +0.43 -3.84
TOCOM Gold 4015.00 33.00 +0.83 7.67 32996
TOCOM Platinum 4870.00 42.00 +0.87 3.71 8638
TOCOM Silver 129.00 6.10 +4.96 59.26 4600
TOCOM Palladium 2046.00 17.00 +0.84 -2.43 131
COMEX GOLD JUN1 1516.90 13.10 +0.87 6.72 18240
COMEX SILVER MAY1 48.81 2.75 +5.97 57.76 33489
Euro/Dollar 1.4572
Dollar/Yen 82.17
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Editing by Jason Neely)
