* Record highs in sight if dollar keeps sliding
* Silver at 13-mth high; platinum at highest since last
Sept
* Inflation worries also support gold
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> flat
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Silver and platinum rallied to
multi-month highs on Wednesday with gold up more than $10 at
its highest since March 2008, within sight of all-time highs
after the dollar slid to a one-year low on investors' renewed
interest in alternative assets.
Buying of gold accelerated when the dollar extended losses
against the euro to its 2009 low. Growing optimism about the
economy has prompted investors to sell the dollar and snap up
riskier assets such as stocks and commodities, helping to lift
gold above $1,000 an ounce last week.
Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Tokyo's Fujitomi Co Ltd,
said inflation risks were also helping to support gold, which
investors see as a hedge against the erosion of paper assets.
"We have those comments from the Fed about the economy on
the mend, but there are still worries about inflation," Saito
said.
In London, spot platinum <XPT=> rose to a peak of $1,333.50
an ounce, its highest since September 2008, and was at
$1,328.50 by 0617 GMT against $1,323 late in New York on
Tuesday. Silver <XAG=> hit a 13-month high of $17.27 an
ounce and was later at $17.24 an ounce against $16.97.
[]
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday the
recession was likely over, while data supported hopes that a
recovery from the worst downturn in decades was advancing.
[]
Spot gold <XAU=> rose as high as $1,016.45 an ounce, up 1
percent from the U.S. notional close of $1,005.90, and within
sight of a record high $1,030.80 hit on March 17, 2008.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> rose 1
percent to $1,018.3 an ounce.
The dollar index, which measures the dollar's value against
a basket of six major currencies, fell to a one-year low of
76.406 <.DXY> before paring losses to 76.481, down 0.1 percent
on the day. []
Many analysts see gold prices rising further.
Economist Martin Murenbeeld told the Denver Gold Forum on
Tuesday that the price of gold could rise above $1,110 in 2010
as central banks diversify reserves into gold due to the
faltering dollar. []
The high prices have also prompted more selling of gold
scrap.
"Because of the high price we are seeing some gold scrap
back in the market ... but not as strong as in the first
quarter," said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus
in Hong Kong.
Buying based on technical charts has also contributed to
gold's bull run, but in contrast high prices have caused
individual investors to think twice about buying physical gold.
Money inflows into gold-backed securities remained slow.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,078.851
tonnes as of Sept. 15, unchanged from the previous business
day. []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0604 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1015.95 10.05 +1.00 15.43
Spot Silver 17.25 0.28 +1.65 52.39
Spot Platinum 1332.50 9.50 +0.72 42.97
Spot Palladium 294.00 2.50 +0.86 59.35
TOCOM Gold 2980.00 48.00 +1.64 15.82
35884
TOCOM Platinum 3905.00 83.00 +2.17 47.25
14295
TOCOM Silver 503.60 20.40 +4.22 57.72
625
TOCOM Palladium 868.00 8.00 +0.93 57.82
208
Euro/Dollar 1.4687
Dollar/Yen 90.85
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
