* LBMA delegates see gold above $1,400, Barrick at $1,500
* Charts suggest correction in the short term
* Euro falls from a five-month low vs dollar.
(Recasts with gold slipping off peak, updates prices, adds
comment.)
By Carole Vaporean and Humeyra Pamuk
NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Gold hit a record high
of $1,300 an ounce on Monday, extending a two-week rally of
fresh records on concerns over an economic recovery, but ended
flat after the euro slipped off five-month highs against the
dollar.
Silver tracked the yellow metal higher, rising to a 30-year
high, but also slipped from the previous high. Silver has
gained nearly 30 percent so far this year.
By 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), spot gold <XAU=> traded at
$1,297.15 an ounce, up slightly from the prior closing bid at
$1,295.60 an ounce, after setting a record at $1,300.
COMEX December gold futures <GCZ0> ended 50 cents higher at
$1,298.60 an ounce on the COMEX division of the NYMEX, after
hitting a high at $1,301.30, a touch below the record at
$1,301.60 set on Friday.
Fund managers and industry experts say gold's rally has
further to run in the longer term, as it provides a hedge
against inflation amid expectations that central banks
worldwide could resort to quantitative easing to support their
economies.
"Momentum is still very much in favour of gold," said
Jesper Dannesboe, senior commodity strategist at Societe
Generale. "I wouldn't dare go against it and definitely
wouldn't want to be short, there's good appetite to buy," he
said.
Delegates at the London Bullion Market Association annual
conference forecast a price of $1,406 by September 2011.
[]
The world's biggest miner of the yellow metal, Barrick Gold
<ABX.TO> said bullion could see above $1,500 next year.
[]
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Some analysts said bullion may correct its rapid rise in
the short term.
"With a high at $1,301 (for COMEX gold), you can hardly say
it's bearish. But, there may be a short-term correction," said
Rick Bensignor, chief market strategist at Execution Noble Llc
in New York.
Bensignor and other analysts saw short-term corrective
selling on the horizon, identifying downside targets ranging
from $1,246 to $1,268 per ounce. []
Gold slipped off its early highs when the euro fell from a
five-month high against the dollar, as nagging worries about
fiscal debt problems in euro zone countries like Ireland gave
traders an excuse to consolidate gains. []
Bullion's rally accelerated last week after the U.S.
Federal Reserve signaled its readiness to pump billions of
dollars into the economy through purchases of government debt,
a process known as quantitative easing. []
[]
"Every country in the world is giving signals that it could
print money...what else are you going to trust apart from
gold," said Sean Corrigan, chief investment strategist at
Diapason Commodities Management.
Central banks capping their gold sales would be another
factor to support the prices. On Monday, Germany's Bundesbank
said it will keep its gold sales to a minimum in the next 12
month. []
TECHNICAL RESISTANCE?
In the shorter term, charts show bullion's rally might face
resistance around $1,315-1,325 an ounce.
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For a technical analysis on gold, click: []
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A potential correction could be limited, traders said, with
the physical market still buoyant despite record high prices.
"There is buying even today despite gold touching $1,300 as
the rupee is in a supportive mode," said Pinakin Vyas,
assistant vice-president with IndusInd Bank. "The buying
momentum would continue on upcoming festivals."
[]
Silver <XAG=> jumped to its highest in three decades at
$21.61 an ounce, but eased to $12.42 by the New York close.
"The medium-term outlook for silver remains positive in our
view and we therefore raise our medium-term price target to $25
an ounce," said metals strategist Michael Widmer at Bank of
America Merrill Lynch in a research note.
The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its holdings rose to a record
high at 9,613.02 tonnes by Sept 24 from 9,582.59 tonnes on Sept
23. []
Silver's main sources of demand are for use in industrial
applications such as semi-conductors and jewelry. Spot platinum
<XPT=> slipped to $1,630.50 an ounce versus Friday's last quote
of $1,637.70 an ounce. Spot palladium <XPD=> was at $549.50 an
ounce, down from $556.70 an ounce previously.
Prices at 3:29 p.m. EDT (1929 GMT)
LAST/ NET PCT YTD
CLOSE CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCZ0> 1298.60 0.50 0.0% 18.5%
US silver <SIZ0> 21.455 0.072 0.0% 27.4%
US platinum <PLV0> 1630.10 -9.70 -0.6% 10.8%
US palladium <PAZ0> 550.70 -7.80 -1.4% 34.7%
Gold <XAU=> 1297.10 1.50 0.1% 18.3%
Silver <XAG=> 21.45 0.04 0.3% 27.6%
Platinum <XPT=> 1630.50 -7.20 -0.4% 11.3%
Palladium <XPD=> 549.50 -7.20 -1.3% 35.5%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1297.00 -1.25 -0.1% 17.5%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 21.54 19.00 0.9% 26.8%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1634.00 6.00 0.4% 11.5%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 558.00 1.00 0.2% 38.8%
(Additional reporting by Lewa Pardomuan in Singapore, Graphic
by Catherine Trevethan; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
