* Gold supported as dollar index hits 14-mth low, euro climbs
* SPDR Gold holdings unchanged, iShares Silver inches up
* Indian festivals keeping some buying interest alive
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Gold hit record highs on Wednesday
as the U.S. dollar extended losses to a 14-month low against a
basket of currencies on growing optimism about the global
economy.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose as high as $1,069.45 per ounce. Gold
has rallied about 13 percent since the start of September and has
gained 22 percent this year.
Most-active December gold futures <GCZ9> rose to a high of
$1,071.10 as of 0320 GMT. They stood at $1,065.0 on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Previous highs were touched only a day before.
"Gold's still on a strong momentum but I think market players
will be cautious about entering into the gold market now," said
Adrian Koh, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"The key is still the dollar's movement and if it continues
to head lower then there's more room for gold to make new highs,"
he said.
The dollar index fell below 75.700 <.DXY> to its lowest since
August 2008, while the euro climbed to a fresh 14-month high of
$1.4888 as investors bet on higher-yielding currencies and
commodities on growing optimism about the global economy. []
Asian stocks were generally higher but traders were
cautiously awaiting earnings reports from key U.S. companies
later in the week for clues to the state of the economy.
"Many players are sidelined, but those who can still buy at
these levels are preventing the market from easing," said Yuichi
Ikemizu, Tokyo branch manager for Standard Bank. He said there
were two-way flows on the physical side, with sellers being met
by some purchasing interest for Indian religious festivals.
More gold scrap entered the physical market on Tuesday as
bullion hovered near all-time highs, while last-minute purchases
by Indian consumers ahead of the festivals kept premiums steady
in Asia. []
Some have expressed concern about the weakness of physical
demand, which together with investment demand has been a major
pillar driving gold prices higher over the past few years.
Paul Walker, chief executive at metals consultancy GFMS, cast
doubt on the sustainability of current levels of gold prices.
"My concern is that this market is becoming increasingly
unidimensional," Walker said at a seminar in Tokyo on Tuesday.
"One pillar, jewellery demand, has become eroded." []
Reflecting a cautious investor stance, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its
holdings stood at 1,109.314 tonnes as of Oct. 13, unchanged from
the previous business day. []
But the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund,
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its bullion holdings rose 18.35
tonnes or 0.2 percent from the previous day to 8,612.57 tonnes on
Tuesday.
Gold's rally pulled other precious metals higher on Tuesday.
Silver <XAG=> rose above $18 an ounce for the first time since
July 2008, to $18.01. Silver was at $17.86 on Wednesday. Platinum
<XPT=> hit a 13-month high of $1,361.50 on Tuesday and stood at
$1,356.50 on Wednesday.
Precious metals prices at 0320 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1068.65 5.30 +0.50 21.42
Spot Silver 17.98 0.23 +1.30 58.83
Spot Platinum 1360.50 2.00 +0.15 45.98
Spot Palladium 329.00 3.50 +1.08 78.32
TOCOM Gold 3073.00 10.00 +0.33 19.43 42468
TOCOM Platinum 3912.00 14.00 +0.36 47.51 9124
TOCOM Silver 515.60 0.80 +0.16 61.48 335
TOCOM Palladium 952.00 -12.00 -1.24 73.09 390
Euro/Dollar 1.4881
Dollar/Yen 89.11
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Watson)
