* Gold may target $1,404/oz -technicals []
* Coming up: U.S. weekly initial jobless claims; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices hit new record
highs on Thursday, fuelled by dollar weakness as hopes of more
monetary easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve continued to run
high, aided by Singapore's move to let its currency appreciate.
Silver <XAG=> rose to a fresh 30-year top at $24.38 an
ounce, and palladium <XPD=> hit $603, its highest in more than
nine years, as the sinking dollar unleashed a broad rally in
commodities.
The dollar marked a 10-month low against a basket of
currencies, coming under broad selling pressure after Singapore
widened the trading band of the Singapore dollar, letting its
currency hit a new record high. []
"It's the old story -- the talk on the U.S. stimulus
package, and too much hot money around. What should you do?
There is practically no interest rate, so everyone is rushing
into commodities and the stock market," said Ronald Leung, a
physical dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers Ltd in Hong Kong.
"Until the interest rates turn around, we won't see a sharp
drop in prices. For the short term, gold is still bullish.
We'll reach $1,400 sooner than we expected."
Spot gold <XAU=> rose to an all-time high around $1,380 an
ounce and was at $1,379.90 by 0036 GMT, up $9 from New York's
notional close.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> also hit a
new record high around $1,381 an ounce.
Buying interest in gold rebounded from a dip at the end of
last week. The Relative Strength Index, or RSI, rose to a
one-week high of 80.9, suggesting an overbought market.
But holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P> slipped more
than two tonnes to 1,285.200 tonnes by Oct 13, their lowest in
more than two months. []
Holdings in the iShares Silver Trust <SLV> rose to a new
record high of 10,125.17 tonnes.
Gold is expected to rally towards $1,404 per ounce as it has
climbed above a consolidation range between $1,324.85 and
$1,364, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst.
[]
For a graphic of the 24-hour gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20101410082746.jpg
The physical market is seen holding off on action after the
rapid ascent of prices.
"Prices have risen too fast today. Selling is not
aggressive, as people bet on further price rise. Buying is more
cautious at this level," said Leung of Lee Cheong.
In China, record high prices may curb demand for jewellery,
but investment needs are seen rising with prices, traders said.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was the only metal in the complex to
shy away from record levels, up 0.63 percent to $1,713 an
ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0536 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1379.90 9.00 +0.66 25.94
Spot Silver 24.35 0.46 +1.93 44.68
Spot Platinum 1713.00 10.75 +0.63 16.77
Spot Palladium 600.25 9.80 +1.66 48.03
TOCOM Gold 3609.00 31.00 +0.87 10.74
43082
TOCOM Platinum 4505.00 18.00 +0.40 2.83
12428
TOCOM Silver 63.90 1.70 +2.73 23.60
1920
TOCOM Palladium 1572.00 5.00 +0.32 34.94
350
Euro/Dollar 1.4081
Dollar/Yen 81.17
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
