* Gold likely to remain near peaks while dollar weak
* SPDR Gold holdings unchanged at 1,114.443 tonnes
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Gold was firm on Wednesday,
consolidating this week's gains to record highs as the precious
metal looked poised to scale new peaks on the back of a weak
dollar.
Bullion remained in sight of a record high of $1,110.85 an
ounce marked on Monday, and the dollar's persistent weakness on
expectations that U.S. interest rates will likely stay low is
expected to help gold rise further.
"The market's probably in a bit of a consolidation mode and
traders are cautious moving forward," said Adrian Koh, an
analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"The gold upward momentum is still strong and there aren't
any sell signals yet," he said.
India's recent purchase of 200 tonnes of gold from the
International Monetary Fund has also provided gold with support
as it has kept the metal out of the market.
The question has now shifted to how and when the IMF will
execute the transaction for the remaining planned gold sales.
[]
A former senior foreign exchange official in China, which
was seen by some as the most likely buyer of IMF's gold, said
this week that the country should not rush to buy the metal
from the IMF but should wait for the price to drop from a
record. []
In widely watched news, Chinese industrial output growth
jumped to a 19-month high in the year to October, underlining
the economy's brisk recovery from the global downturn in
response to massive fiscal and monetary stimulus.
[]
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,106.20 per ounce at 0336 GMT
Tuesday, up 0.1 percent from New York's notional close.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were at
$1,106.60 an ounce, up 0.4 percent, after hitting an all-time
high of $1,111.70 on Monday.
The dollar slipped on Wednesday, but managed to avoid a
break of recent 15-month lows against a basket of currencies as
investors paused for breath after a recent spike in the euro
and higher-yielders. []
"The only factor that may weigh on gold would be a rebound
in the dollar, or any profit-taking pressures. But, we aren't
really getting any clear signs of that yet," Koh said.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday
that the dollar's role as a reserve currency is intact, but the
United States cannot take it for granted and needs to tackle
its huge fiscal deficit. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,114.443 tonnes
as of Nov. 10, unchanged from the previous business day and at
a level last seen in July. []
U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs <GS.N> said gold could
rise to record highs in a range from $1,150 to $1,200 an ounce,
driven by declining real interest rates and renewed buying
interest by central banks. []
Spot silver <XAG=> was at $17.31 per ounce, mostly flat
from the New York notional close of $17.32.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was at $1,356.50 per ounce, up from
$1,349.50, while sister metal palladium <XPD=> was at $331.00
versus $331.50.
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0335 GMT Metal Last
Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30
Spot Gold 1106.40 1.10 +0.10 25.71
Spot Silver 17.31 -0.01 -0.06 52.92
Spot Platinum 1356.50 7.00 +0.52 45.55
Spot Palladium 331.00 -0.50 -0.15 79.40
TOCOM Gold 3198.00 19.00 +0.60 24.29
35130
TOCOM Platinum 3923.00 14.00 +0.36 47.93
5419
TOCOM Silver 501.00 -0.10 -0.02 56.91
276
TOCOM Palladium 963.00 7.00 +0.73 75.09
69
Euro/Dollar 1.4986
Dollar/Yen 89.59
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
