* Gold rallies above $1,470/oz, silver breaks above $40/oz
* Inflation worries prompts fund to buy precious, commods
* US gov't shutdown worry, rate differentials hit dollar
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity; new byline, changes
dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - Gold rose to a record high
for a fourth straight day and silver surged on Friday, as a
weaker dollar, the prospect of a U.S. government shutdown and
inflation worries lifted bullion above $1,470 an ounce.
Gold is set for its biggest weekly gain in four months,
drawing support from renewed euro zone sovereign debt fears
amid Portugal's financial crisis and inflation jitters as crude
oil and corn hit new highs this week.
On technical charts, gold broke above a key resistance and
could next target above $1,500 an ounce. The metal has risen
more than 10 percent since late January when political unrest
began to flare in the Middle East and North Africa.
"With the expected future inflation being higher in this
low interest rate environment, investors are more inclined to
have some contributions to commodities as an inflation hedge,"
said Hakan Kaya, commodities portfolio manager at Neuberger
Berman, which manages about $190 billion client assets.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose as high as $1,474.19 an ounce and was
later up 1 percent at $1,472.70 an ounce by 11:18 a.m. EDT
(1518 GMT).
Silver <XAG=> rose 2.3 percent to $40.40 an ounce, just off
the session high of $40.44.
The gold-to-silver ratio -- the number of silver ounces
needed to buy an ounce of gold -- fell to a 28-year low near 36
on Friday. (Graphic: http://r.reuters.com/myt88r)
"One would expect silver to outperform in this environment
because it bears a higher risk than gold on a volatility
basis," Kaya said.
The dollar slide against the euro, supported by widening
interest rate differentials after ECB's rate hike, and crude
oil's surge to 2-1/2 year high added fuel to a rally that has
already taken gold to a series of record highs this year.
A looming government shutdown looming also weighed on the
dollar, as Democratic and Republican congressional leaders said
there was no overall deal on government funding for the rest of
the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, and could not even agree on
what disagreements remain ahead of the midnight Friday
deadline. []
Among other precious metals, platinum <XPT=> gained 1.3
percent to $1,804.24 an ounce, while palladium <XPD=> jumped
2.2 percent to $792.
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCM1> 1473.80 14.50 1.0% 3.7%
US silver <SIK1> 40.430 0.878 2.2% 30.7%
US platinum <PLN1> 1812.20 21.60 1.2% 1.9%
US palladium <PAM1> 794.75 14.50 1.9% -1.1%
Gold <XAU=> 1472.70 15.25 1.0% 3.8%
Silver <XAG=> 40.40 0.89 2.3% 30.9%
Platinum <XPT=> 1804.24 23.14 1.3% 2.1%
Palladium <XPD=> 792.00 16.97 2.2% -0.9%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1469.50 -1.00 -0.1% 4.2%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 40.22 71.00 1.8% 31.3%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1803.00 7.00 0.4% 4.2%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 798.00 9.00 1.1% 0.9%
(Addtional reporting by Jan Harvey in London; Editing by David
Gregorio)
