* Gold hits record for 6th session out of 8
* Strong euro, Asian currencies encourage gold buying
* Barrick chief says sell-off in gold possible
* SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> holdings unchanged Wednesday
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Gold rose above $1,120 per ounce
to hit a record high on Thursday for the second straight day,
as investors bought the precious metal to hedge against a
weakening dollar.
Improvements in the economic outlook also lent support to
the precious metal. Gold is often seen as a hedge against
energy price-led inflation.
But gains were partly weighed down after Barrick's chief
executive in an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday
that there is a possibility of a sell-off in gold.
[]
The comments by the world's biggest gold producer were seen
as suggesting the company's planned buy-backs of hedging short
positions are mostly over, analysts said, meaning a major buyer
getting out of the market.
"The comments sounded to me as if Barrick is not at all in
any hurry to buy back," said Naomi Suzuki, a senior analyst at
SC Asset Management Co in Tokyo.
"There's some caution in the market. The lack of any
increase in the holdings of the gold-backed exchange-traded
fund lately is underlining that mood," she said, referring to
the world's largest bullion-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>.
Last week, Barrick said in an interview with Reuters that
it might complete the planned closure of its hedgebook before
the end of the 12-month window it had set, adding that it had
bought back 1 million ounces of hedge gold in October.
[]
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,121 an ounce as of 0709 GMT
after rising to a record $1,121.85, compared with New York's
notional close of $1,117.45.
Bullion has now renewed record highs for six out of the
past eight sessions, during which it rose more than 5 percent.
It has risen 27 percent so far this year.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> traded at
$1,121.30 an ounce, up 0.6 percent. The contract earlier rose
to a fresh record of $1,123.40.
Gold has been underpinned by hopes for more central bank
buying after news last week that the International Monetary
Fund had sold 200 tonnes of bullion to India's central bank.
On Wednesday, Vietnam's central bank said it will allow
imports of gold -- banned since May last year -- after the
sharp rise in bullion prices in recent days, potentially
opening up a new source of demand. []
Analyst though said a lack of foreign currency in Vietnam
means demand would not be enough to have an impact on the
market.
Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus in Hong
Kong, said a key driver for gold's extended gains was a
broad-based fall in the dollar.
"Fund managers are changing their portfolios and so are our
customers, given that the euro and Asian currencies are getting
stronger," Poon said, adding that gold will likely test its
next target of $1,200 by the end of this year.
The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's performance
against six major currencies, was around 75 after hitting a
fresh 15-month low of 74.744 <.DXY> the previous day. []
Wednesday's factory output data from China pointed to a
strengthening global economy, boosting commodities and stock
prices and providing more support for gold. []
Interest in gold exchange-traded funds remained soft, with
SDPR Gold Trust's gold holdings at 1,114.443 tonnes on
Wednesday, unchanged since Nov. 9 and still short of a record
1,134.03 tonnes marked earlier this year. []
Precious metals prices at 0614 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1120.70 3.25 +0.29 27.33
Spot Silver 17.64 0.07 +0.40 55.83
Spot Platinum 1377.70 9.70 +0.71 47.82
Spot Palladium 347.50 6.00 +1.76 88.35
TOCOM Gold 3249.00 41.00 +1.28 26.27
70313
TOCOM Platinum 3994.00 69.00 +1.76 50.60
12103
TOCOM Silver 511.90 10.20 +2.03 60.32
463
TOCOM Palladium 1011.00 48.00 +4.98 83.82
873
Euro/Dollar 1.4998
Dollar/Yen 89.79
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
